Past, Present, and Future: A Sequel to Extraction
by cool-chick-rae
Summary: Sequel to Extraction - Arthur and Ariadne have been dating for several months, but Ariadne still doesn't know much about Arthur's past. Once she convinces Arthur to confide in her the two embark on a trip to the US and run into an old acquaintance.
1. Chapter 1: Issues

**Past, Present, and Future (a sequel to Extraction)**

**Chapter 1: Issues**

**Note: I do not own Inception. This story takes place after my story Extraction. I mention characters from Extraction, so you really should probably read it before reading this story.**

**I want to send a shout out to musicchica10 whose own Inception fan fictions really inspired me to write this little continuation to Extraction. What started as just a silly little fluff continuation to Extraction has evolved into something a little more solid. Not nearly as action packed as Extraction, but I think as a sort little sequel it does Extraction justice.**

**I warn you now that Arthur and Ariadne may seem out of character, but I feel like that is only because I am exploring sides to their characters that we didn't get to see in the movie. **

**Originally this sequel was 8 chapters long, but now it is 10 as inspiration hit me the other day and I changed a few things around.**

**Now on with the story!**

"You look down in the dumps," Ariadne's good friend Sara commented. The architect nodded as she took a seat across from her friend on the small patio just outside of the quaint little coffee shop they had agreed to meet at.

"Yeah, kind of," the girl sighed as she set her purse on the ground beside the small metal chair she was now situated in.

"What's up? I would have thought you'd be less gloomy now that school's off for the summer. I mean, more time to spend with the boyfriend right?" Sara teased Ariadne and raised her eyebrows suggestively as she spoke the last part.

Ariadne chuckled. "Well, he just hopped on a plane for Egypt. A friend of his down there wanted to consult with him about something or other for a job."

"Ah, so no sex for awhile then. I guess that's a good reason to be depressed," Sara declared as she sipped her steaming hot beverage.

"He should only be gone for a few days, but what really annoys me is he didn't even let me know until this morning when he was practically running out the door to catch his plane," Ariadne hissed as she glared into her coffee cup.

"That's a little rude," Sara agreed.

"I mean, I guess he only found out last night about the job, but still, a little more notice would have been appreciated."

"At least you have a boyfriend," Sara sighed.

"What about that Pierre . . . whatever his name was, from your research writing class, or whatever it was called," Ariadne asked as she blew on her coffee to cool it.

"Glad you listen so well when I talk to you," Sara grumbled.

"I'm sorry-" Ariadne began to apologize.

Sara just smiled. "I'm kidding, it's okay. I'm not the best with details, as my thesis supervisor keeps reminding me." Sara rolled her eyes now and Ariadne smiled apologetically. "Anyway, Pierre was a total pervert. We went on one date and he didn't even wait for us to finish dinner before he was trying to get under my skirt."

"Like literally . . .?" Ariadne asked trailing off.

"Oh ya! We're in this classy little restaurant and he was sitting beside me in the booth, which I thought was weird to begin with, I like space. Anyway, before I know it his hand is trailing under my skirt, and not in a flirty sort of way either, he was all business!"

"How did I not know about this until now?" Ariadne cried as she leaned across the table towards Sara. "That sounds humiliating!"

"Oh it was! I ended up stabbing him with a fork, he was fine, but I totally ran out on him. I mean, I don't mind things going fast, but come on we hadn't even left the restaurant yet and it _was_ a first date," Sara informed her friend.

"I'm so sorry, how awful! We really do need to catch up more often. I can't believe only just hearing about this now!" Ariadne exclaimed.

"But enough about my problems! I'm tired of thinking about them, let's get back to your issues."

"My issues?" Ariadne asked as she finally took a sip of her coffee.

"Yes, besides Arthur just up and leaving without warning this morning, how are things really going between you two?" Ariadne smiled. "And leave nothing out," Sara added firmly.

Ariadne chuckled and shook her head. "Things have actually been going really well. The past several months have been great; I've really gotten to know Arthur. I mean, there's so much more to him than I first thought. He's really easy-going once you get to know him and we can joke around with each other . . ." Ariadne trailed off.

"But . . ." Sara prompted.

"But, I still don't know much about him. I mean, I've offered him cute and embarrassing little anecdotes from my childhood, but I don't know anything about his family, or his childhood for that matter. I couldn't tell you if he has any siblings. Also, he's still just living out of a hotel room!" Ariadne growled the last part, causing a few of the nearby coffee drinkers to glance in the girl's direction.

"I've brought up the idea of him actually trying to find a more permanent place here, but he kind of just brushes it off. I mean, I think he's committed to our relationship, but I just feel like if he actually at least rented a place here, had a more permanent resident, it'd feel more like he was. Does that make any sense?" Ariadne asked her friend who was nodding.

"I totally get it. It's not that you _need_ him to rent a place here, but it'd be nice for him to show you with a more permanent physical action that he is actually committed to this for the long term," Sara offered.

"Exactly! I've been hesitant to push the issue though, because I don't want to be the crazy badgering girlfriend but I mean, shouldn't I be able to talk to him about all this. Shouldn't I be able to tell him my feelings?"

"Being able to share thoughts and feelings with the person you care most about in this world sounds pretty reasonable to me," Sara declared. Ariadne nodded her head glumly.

"So, I guess I should talk to him about all this when he gets back, huh?" Ariadne asked.

"Well you could do it through text messaging, but that's kind of lame," Sara informed her friend. Ariadne tossed a napkin at the girl.

"Hey!" Sara cried as she blocked the attack. Ariadne laughed.

"I might actually consider texting him, if my phone wasn't acting weird," Ariadne said with a sigh.

"What do you mean weird?" Sara asked.

"I don't know, just after Arthur left this morning it's been running all slow and I didn't even get your 'good morning wake-up' message until nearly two hours after you sent it to me," Ariadne sighed again. "Why did my phone have to start acting up just when my tech-savvy boyfriend leaves the country?"

Sara laughed. "Yeah, rotten luck, but you could always contact your cell phone provider if the problem continues."

Ariadne nodded. "I'll wait and see how long Arthur's going to be, but I might just have to do that, because my phone is like my life-line. It has all my important meetings and even school notes on it." Sara nodded her head in understanding. A comfortable silence then set in and the girls just sipped their drinks quietly enjoying the warm breeze that ruffled their clothes and hair.

Finally, as Sara downed the last of her coffee she fixed a serious expression onto her face and turned her attention back to Ariadne. "Unfortunately, I have to get going; but honestly, Ariadne, you can't be afraid to tell Arthur what's really on your mind. If it turns out he does walk away from you for it, then it's probably better that you get out of the relationship sooner rather than later anyway," Sara advised as she clutched her friends hands firmly in her own now.

Ariadne nodded, "you're right."

"You'll have to call me after the big confession and let me know how goes! Also, be sure to find out specifically if Arthur has any single brothers, preferably an identical twin, but I'm not really picky!" Sara babbled exuberantly, back to her more bubbly self. Ariadne laughed, tossing another napkin at her friend who grabbed her wet stir stick to try and fend off the attack.

**Note: Well a short, slow start, but I think it sets things up nicely. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Talk

**Past, Present, and Future – Sequel to Extraction **

**Chapter 2: The Talk**

**Note: I do not own Inception. Thank you very much to everyone who took the time to review the final chapter of Extraction and to those of you who have decided to give this sequel a shot.**

Ariadne finished tidying her room and then began digging through the clothes in her dresser. Arthur was supposed to be coming home late tonight and he had said he'd stop by her place, so the architect wanted to find the perfect pyjamas to wear. She decided something semi-sexy would be appropriate, as she was still a little miffed at Arthur for leaving so suddenly for the job.

The girl rummaged through her dresser drawers as she tried to find what she was looking for. She finally pulled out a bright pink push-up bra she had bought recently and a pair of bight pink silk booty shorts. She absolutely loved the feel of the silk against her skin and thought the outfit was a perfectly acceptable one to welcome Arthur home in.

So, the girl changed and then donned a white cotton bathrobe as she made her way to the bathroom in the boarding house. The landlady, Mrs. Dufour, wasn't thrilled about Arthur being around the place so often, but Ariadne and her parents had both more or less convinced the elderly woman that she had absolutely nothing to worry about from Arthur. Ariadne wasn't sure that the old woman completely believed them, but she seemed to put up with Arthur coming around at all hours of the day and night. Not to mention that Arthur usually brought expensive baked goods from a nearby bakery for Mrs. Dufour to enjoy, whenever he did show up.

Once in the bathroom, with the door securely locked, Ariadne began washing her face and smiled as she recalled when she and Arthur had told her parents about the Inception job. How they had told them all about shared dreaming and extraction. They had been sceptical obviously, as Ariadne knew they would be; however, they couldn't argue for long when they had found themselves in a shared dreaming experience with Arthur and Ariadne.

She knew her parents worried for her and weren't thrilled with the idea of her sometimes taking illegal employment, but they had slowly relented; finally understanding that Ariadne wasn't a child anymore and that she needed to follow her own path. They also didn't particularly like Arthur, obviously because of his chosen occupation for starters and of course because no one would ever be good enough for their little girl, but they too had become resigned to the fact that she would start to have more serious relationships. However, as time went on and they got to know Arthur a little more and see more than just the business side of his personality they seemed to be a little more civil to him.

Ariadne fixed her hair now, curling some pieces to give her hair the tousled 'I just got out of bed look,' that movie stars often wore in films, because in reality nobody's hair looked that stunning after waking up from a deep 8 hour sleep. Ariadne then donned some light make-up giving her eyes a smoky appearance and smirked. She was ready. The girl then headed back to her room to await the return of her boyfriend.

However, by the time 2:00am rolled around Ariadne was growing worried. She still hadn't heard anything from Arthur and he should have been back by midnight, at the latest. So, she decided to send him a text. Luckily for Ariadne only a few short hours after her coffee with Sara her cell phone had gone back to normal. The girl could only assume that the slowness had been due to some sort of minor technical glitch with her cell service provider.

"Just wondering if you're ok," Ariadne mumbled as she typed the words into her phone. The girl pressed send and then lay down in her bed to await his reply. Despite her worry Ariadne did began to drift off to sleep as she waited for his reply, but was brought back to reality as her phone dinged that she had gotten a new message.

"Sorry, got in a couple of hours ago, but kind of tired. I'll see you tomorrow," Ariadne said aloud as she read Arthur's reply.

"Wonderful, would have been nice to know that earlier!" Ariadne grumbled angrily as she slammed her phone on the dining room-style table squished in beside her bed in her tiny room. The girl then climbed off her bed and pulled off the ridiculously uncomfortable bra and the soft silk shorts. She grabbed the first large washed out t-shirt she could find and a pair of holey over-sized sweat pants.

She then stomped to the bathroom, not concerned about who she woke up, and began tossing water on her face to remove the make-up she had painstakingly applied earlier. The girl also roughly pulled her fingers through her hair, purposely messing it up, and with this task complete she stomped back to her room. She slammed her door, crawled into bed and despite her anger, fell asleep pretty quickly.

* * *

><p>Ariadne awoke to a light tapping on her door. The girl groggily pulled the blankets off of her head and saw Arthur sheepishly entering the room with two hot chocolates in hand and a paper bag tucked between his arm and his body.<p>

"I come bearing gifts," he said quietly as he gently kicked the door closed behind him.

"Mmm," Ariadne murmured as she took in the scent of the hot chocolate, and rubbed some sleep out of her eyes. "A boyfriend who knows when he's screwed up, how refreshing."

Arthur chuckled and tossed the paper bag towards her. "That contains some kind of chocolate covered pastries that the baker assured me are to die for."

Ariadne opened the bag and grinned. "You might just be forgiven," she stated as she took out one of the pastries and bit into it. "Mmm," she moaned closing her eyes to savour the delicious taste.

Arthur laughed again. "Sorry about last night. I didn't think you had planned to stay up for me. Originally, I figured I would just stop in for a quick hello and then be on my way, but I was exhausted when I got back, so I thought we could just meet up today. If I knew you had . . . dressed up for me I would stopped by," the point man apologized as his gaze fell on the bright pink garments Ariadne had tossed to her floor last night in anger. Ariadne blushed as she tried to hide her current frumpy appearance with her blankets.

"It's okay. I was more so angry because I was worried about you! I didn't' really know what sort of job you had gone to do, and when you didn't show up on time I guess I just automatically began running through the worst possible scenarios." Ariadne took a long sip of her warm hot chocolate now.

"I told you I was just going to help some old friends who had hit a wall in the research phase of their extraction planning," Arthur gently reminded the girl as he crawled onto the bed beside Ariadne and sipped his own hot chocolate.

"Yeah, but still . . ." the girl trailed off and sighed. "Look, Arthur, we need to talk."

"Uh, oh," Arthur said in a joking tone, but his eyes held a worried edge to them.

"I'm not breaking up with you," the girl reassured her boyfriend jokingly. Arthur nodded, but set his beverage on the table now, turning to give Ariadne his full attention.

"Okay, go ahead," he urged when Ariadne made no attempt to continue. The girl finally placed her pastry and drink down too.

"It's just . . . I don't understand why you won't find a place to rent here, Arthur. I don't feel like you'll just leave me, but getting a more permanent place would just make me feel . . . I don't know, make me feel like you are really committed to us," Ariadne finally stated.

Arthur's eyes softened now with relief. "Is that all? Ariadne, I had no idea me not getting a place here was bugging you that much."

"Really? You don't think it's weird to be living out of an incredibly expensive hotel room for months on end?" The architect raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Arthur chuckled as he wrapped an arm around the girl.

"I guess I've never placed a lot of value on having a permanent home base. I travel a lot for work, and though I do own a couple of apartments in the states, I guess hotel rooms are where I spend the majority of my time. So home, for the last several years anyway, has really just been wherever I'm working and in whatever hotel room I'm staying in at the time." Ariadne nodded trying to understand where Arthur was coming from.

"If you really want me to find an apartment here, then I'll do it. We can even start apartment hunting this afternoon if you like," he stated firmly as he picked up his hot chocolate again with his free arm.

"That'd be great," the girl admitted and reached for her pastry again to take a bite out of it.

Arthur then began to describe the extraction job he had been helping with. The guys on the team were apparently pretty amateur and they really only did small time extractions for small businesses. Most of their employers consisted of semi-successful businessmen trying to discover who their wives were cheating on them with.

"Doesn't extraction seem a bit like overkill to just discover who your wife is sleeping with? I mean wouldn't your everyday private investigators be more suited for that kind of work?" Ariadne asked as she licked her fingers free of chocolate.

Arthur laughed. "Extraction isn't becoming more publicly known necessarily, but business professionals, governments etc, are becoming more aware of it. So, I guess you could say it's just a fad and even the little guys want a piece of it."

Ariadne shook her head in amusement. After the girl had finished her food and drink she leaned in to kiss Arthur on the cheek. "Thank you, I appreciated this."

"You're most welcome," he replied and kissed her forehead affectionately.

"However, there is one more thing I wanted to discuss with you."

"Okay." Arthur drew the word out as his eyes narrowed. He was obviously trying to guess what the girl could want to go into now.

"I want to know about your childhood Arthur. I want to know about your family!" she finally declared. She could see the point man's face begin to tighten and so she hurriedly continued. "Look, I told you all about the time I fell off the slide in kindergarten and had a black eye for a month, and I even let you watch my ballet recital from when I was eight years old! But Arthur, I don't know anything about your past! I don't even know if you have any siblings!"

"Why does my past matter?" Arthur asked rather harshly.

"Because our past is what helped shape us into who we are today. Arthur, I know not everyone is fortunate enough to have the happy-go-lucky type of childhood I did, but whatever is in your past, I just wish you'd feel like you could confide in me about it," the girl said softly as she leaned into her boyfriend giving him a half hug. Arthur said nothing and just continued to sit stiffly in Ariadne's embrace.

"Is it really that awful?" Ariadne finally asked softly, failing to keep the worry out of her voice now. Arthur sighed and began to relax. He pulled Ariadne close to him as he pulled her farther onto the bed so the two could lie down together on the comfortable surface.

Ariadne snuggled into his hold and the point man finally spoke. "It's not that I had an awful childhood. I mean, my parents didn't abuse me or anything," he quickly reassured his girlfriend. "I just . . . I have two older brothers and everyone in my family is a doctor. My mom is a dermatologist; my dad is a pediatrician; my brothers are both general practitioners."

"What are your brother's names?" Ariadne interrupted, her head now resting on Arthur's chest.

"Aaron and Archie."

Ariadne smirked. "Archie?"

"Yeah, Archie is his name legally," Arthur confirmed. Ariadne giggled again.

"There was always a lot of pressure growing up to do well in school and we always took family trips to medical conventions and that sort of thing."

Arthur laughed now. "Some kids went to Disneyland for their family vacations and I got to go to seminars and see images of flesh-eating diseases and watch videos of women giving birth."

"You're exaggerating," Ariadne cried as she sat up to smack Arthur's chest.

The point man laughed. "I wish I was! Watching a very graphic video of a new life being brought into this world is just what every 12 year-old boy wants to see," he joked. Ariadne laughed now too covering her reddening face as she tried to catch her breath.

"I don't think I'd even like to watch something like that now," the girl finally managed to choke out between her laughter. Arthur nodded and continued once the two had composed themselves again.

"It was always just assumed my brothers and I would continue on in our parent's footsteps, that is, become doctors. However, I really wasn't into the whole medical thing. I found biology and chemistry incredibly boring subjects. I preferred subjects like History, English, Business, and Computer Science."

"Your parents didn't approve obviously."

Arthur nodded his head, "I started purposely doing poorly in biology just to annoy my parents and did they ever freak out on me!" Arthur got a far away look in his eyes as he was obviously recalling the incident.

"I think what really annoyed my parents was the fact that I was smart without having to try that hard. My brother's had to work so hard to get good grades and I made it look effortless. I think they felt like such natural intelligence was being wasted by not being put into the field of medicine." Arthur sighed now as he ran a hand up and down Ariadne's arm absently.

"So, what ended up happening?" Ariadne asked.

"Well I graduated high school early, I was sixteen, and went off to Yale to pursue my interests in International studies and political science. After a couple of years of attending classes there I ended up doing some research with a professor who introduced me to the concept of shared dreaming. Through him, I ended up getting a summer internship at a military facility at the end of my second year. I used to do all kinds of data collecting and research on the effects that shared dreaming had on soldiers, who used the experience to practice their combat skills. From there I just sort of drifted into the world of illegal subconscious corporate espionage."

"So, after you left home at sixteen, did you keep in contact with your family at all?" Ariadne asked.

"Nope," he replied firmly.

"So, you haven't seen your parents or brothers for like over 10 years?" Ariadne asked in amazement, sitting up now to look at Arthur's face.

"After I left home to attend Yale I didn't keep in contact with any of them," Arthur confirmed. Ariadne gave her boyfriend a sympathetic look.

"It's not a big deal. They didn't approve of my decisions and I've come to terms with that. I'm honestly done being angry about it."

Ariadne gave Arthur a unconvinced look. The fact that he had been so tense when she had first broached the subject suggested he was still wounded by his parents' lack of approval, but Ariadne decided not to point this out.

"I have sort of kept tabs on them though. I mean my oldest brother Aaron got married three years ago and my brother Archie is engaged, and set to be married this winter," Arthur finally offered.

"They didn't invite you?" Ariadne asked softly.

"Not that they would want to, me being the family black sheep, but they probably had no idea where to send the invitation. I mean, like I said, after I left for Yale I didn't keep them updated on my whereabouts."

"Have you ever considered going back home?"

"No!" Arthur snapped.

"Really?" Ariadne asked cupping Arthur's cheek in the palm of small hand. Arthur smiled as he placed his hand over top of Ariadne's.

"Whatever void was left in my heart by my family has now been filled by you." Ariadne smiled as she leaned down to kiss Arthur.

"Just think about it. We could go visit your family this summer. I'd like to meet them, and who knows, maybe they'll be more understanding than you think. I mean, they did lose their youngest and brightest son for over ten years, maybe they're just looking to re-connect with you now and make things right."

"Maybe," Arthur mused, though he didn't sound convinced.

"Oh, and before I forget can you take a look at my cell phone?" Ariadne asked as she sat up and removed herself from Arthur's embrace. Arthur grinned and shook his head in amusement at the sharp turn in events. Ariadne reached for her cell now, which was still on the table beside her bed.

"Sure, what's wrong with it?" he finally asked.

"Well I don't think anything anymore it seems to be working fine now, but the day you left it was being really slow and I couldn't access all of my files and notes. Oh, and my texts were coming late. I just want to make I don't have some sort of virus."

"Hmm," Arthur said as he took the phone from Ariadne and began tinkering with it.

Ariadne leaned over his shoulder. "See anything wrong yet?"

"I think maybe someone hacked your phone," Arthur said at last. " Do you have a lot of personal information on here?"

"Uh, I don't know. I mean school stuff and contacts. Oh, and some pictures of school projects."

"Mind if I take this back to my hotel room? I have some stuff back there that I can use to see if we can trace whoever hacked your phone and I'll fix it so that it won't be as easy for people to hack into again," Arthur explained.

"Sure, but do you think this is something I should be worried about?" Ariadne asked sounding concerned.

"Probably not, you'd be surprised how often cell phones get hacked and people don't even realize it. Usually it's just some teenager trying to get some free internet time, but like I said if I take it back to my place I can try and trace the hacker just to be sure."

Ariadne nodded, looking a little more relieved.

"You know it never even occurred to me to take extra precautions with your cell, like I do with my own." Ariadne could tell Arthur was upset with himself now. "Usually the only reason I put the extra security in place is to make sure my work information is secure-" Ariadne cut her boyfriend off now.

"Don't worry about it," Ariadne reassured him. Arthur nodded as he continued digging through Ariadne's cell phone's contents.

"Well, why don't you go back to your place then and work on my phone, while I get changed here and then we'll meet up to go start your apartment hunt."

"Sounds like a plan," Arthur agreed.

**Note: So, there's Arthur past. I debated making it more devious and giving him a more traumatic childhood, but I decided I wanted this story to be lighter and not all full of angst.**


	3. Chapter 3: Job Opportunity

**Past, Present, and Future – Sequel to Extraction Chapter 3: Job Opportunity**

**Note: I do not own Inception. **

Ariadne finished stuffing the last of her toiletries into her suitcase and zipped it up. After a couple of weeks of prodding on Ariadne's part she had finally convinced Arthur to take her to the states to visit his family. Furthermore, Ariadne wanted to see the two places Arthur owned there and she wanted to visit her own parents. So, the two had put together a sort of cross-country road trip. The two would be flying out in a few hours to San Francisco, California, Arthur's hometown.

Ariadne's cell phone began to ring and the girl began rummaging through her bed sheets to find the device. Luckily for her, Arthur had easily put in some new security blocks to prevent her phone from getting hacked again. Arthur's diagnostic had also shown that the device that had hacked Ariadne's cell phone didn't belong to any system Arthur was familiar with, meaning no former employer of Arthur's had hacked into Ariadne's phone. This had put the girl more at ease. After all, Arthur had worked for some very dangerous people in the past, like Cobol, and knowing that her phone hadn't been hacked by them was a reprieve.

However, Arthur hadn't been able to actually tell her who had invaded her phone, but he had assured her that it seemed likely that his original theory, about some teenager just looking to get some free internet, was the reason for the invasion. Finally, she located her phone and glanced at the caller id before answering.

"Hey Eames," the girl greeted pleasantly.

"Hey, how's it going?" Eames asked.

"Just fine. What can I do for you?"

"What, can't I just call to hear your lovely voice or does Arthur not like incredibly handsome and demure men calling his girlfriend to chat?"

Ariadne laughed as she sat on the edge of her bed. "I really do miss you."

"Well, I do actually have a reason for calling. I'm working with an extractor named Philip Long, and we are in need of an architect. The man Phil usually works with is currently doing time for something or other. I can't remember what for, but it's not for anything major anyway, I think he only got two years."

"What sort of extraction are we talking about?" Ariadne asked now serious, as she shook her head at what Eames thought wasn't major. In the girl's books any jail time was pretty major.

"A very powerful and successful business man thinks his son is feeding information to one of his company's competitors. He wants us to check out if this is the case or not and also to look into one of his company's main competitors who he knows is working on some big secret project."

"Sounds like a pretty straightforward job. What's this extractor Philip Long like?" Ariadne asked. The girl mentally chided herself now, as she could already feel her heartbeat quickening at the thought of doing another extraction, of building more dream worlds.

"A decent enough fellow. He's nowhere near as talented as Cobb, but he's pretty quick-witted and he's fair. He wont' cheat you out of what you're due," Eames replied firmly. "You wouldn't have to come into the dream with us if you didn't want to. You could just build the layers, collect your cash and be on your merry way."

"This sounds really tempting Eames," Ariadne finally said.

"But . . ." the forger prodded.

"But, I think I should to talk to Arthur about this. We're actually just heading to San Francisco in the next few hours for a little vacation. How about I give you a call later tonight once we're settled?"

"Okay, sounds good; and Ariadne, don't let Arthur boss you around. You do what _you _want to do, okay?"

"Thanks for your concern Eames. I'll let you know," the girl reassured the forger before she hung up. Ariadne smirked as she set her phone back on her bed.

The thought of doing another extraction was exhilarating, but was that what she really wanted to do? The girl wasn't sure. After rescuing Cobb from Cobol Ariadne and Arthur had returned to Paris so that Ariadne could resume her studies. Obviously this was so that she could get a decent honest paying job one day, but still, the offer was tempting.

During the past several months, while Ariadne was busy with her classes, Arthur had done a few extractions with various different teams. He'd also taken a couple of consulting jobs, like the one in Egypt a few days ago, but they had never really broached the topic of Ariadne doing extractions for a living like he did. The girl had to admit that the thought of bringing this topic up with Arthur made her slightly nervous. She wasn't sure how he would react and what if he did say no? Could she really just go against his wishes if that turned out to be the case? It was her life, but still, being in a relationship meant you had to give and take, and what if Ariadne had to give-up shared dreaming?

Ariadne's thoughts were broken by the light knock on her door. "You ready to go?" Arthur asked as he stuck his head into her room.

"Yeah," Ariadne replied as she heaved her suitcase off her bed. Arthur grinned.

"Packed enough?" he asked sarcastically as he took the girl's suitcase from her.

"Honestly, I only packed the essentials!" Ariadne defended herself as the pair made their way down the stairs of the old boarding house and outside to the taxi waiting by the curb.

**Note: Again a short chapter, but I plan to post a one-shot Inception story later this afternoon too. So, perhaps this little extra story will make-up for the shortness of this update? I hope so.**

**Thank you again to those of you that took the time to review and I have to say I was overwhelmed by how many people have added this story and Extraction to their favourite story and alert lists! So, thank you everyone it makes me feel all warm and cozy inside.**


	4. Chapter 4: Surprises

**Past, Present, and Future – Sequel to Extraction **

**Chapter 4: Surprises**

**Note: I do not own Inception. **

Ariadne had been too scarred to tell Arthur about Eames' job offer during their flight from Paris to San Francisco. The girl had been terrified that the point man might make a scene on the plane, not that that seemed like Arthur's style, but the girl figured you could never be too careful. However, now that they were alone in their hotel room Ariadne felt like it would be as good a time as any to bring the subject up and she just couldn't keep beating around the bush.

Ariadne took a seat on the large bed and crossed her legs as she began to dig into her hamburger and fries that room service had just delivered. Arthur soon joined her taking a sip of his wine before finally addressing the girl.

"You've been awfully quiet this whole trip. Anything wrong?" Arthur asked.

"Well, I've actually been looking for the right time to tell you something," Ariadne said at last as she pushed around the fries on her plate.

"Well go ahead," Arthur replied sounding slightly tense.

"I . . .well I got a call yesterday with some . . . exciting . . . information," Ariadne finally stated, trying to come up with the right words.

"What kind of exciting information?" Though Arthur was trying to force a smile she could tell he was wary. Ariadne bit her lip and fiddled with her fingers for a few moments keeping Arthur in suspense.

"I . . . well I got a job offer from Eames," Ariadne finally blurted and quickly chanced a look at Arthur's face. To her surprise he didn't look upset. In fact he seemed relieved.

_Relieved? _the girl wondered.

"Is that all?" he finally asked through a chuckle.

"Yeah, what's so funny?" Ariadne asked.

"Nothing, I just thought . . . well it doesn't matter what I thought," Arthur finally declared as he reached for his wine again and downed it in one gulp. He chuckled softly to himself again.

"No, what did you think I was going to say?" Ariadne demanded now.

"I don't know! The way you were all fidgeting and reluctantly saying you had 'exciting' news I guess I just jumped to an extreme conclusion."

"Such as?" Ariadne pressed, frowning.

Arthur shook his head, "I don't know, I thought maybe you were pregnant!"

Ariadne sat momentarily shocked. "What?"

"Hey, you're the one who was acting strangely," Arthur declared raising his arms in surrender.

"But we're always careful," Ariadne pointed out.

"I know, but accidents happen right?"

Ariadne cringed, not liking the term accidents. "Would you have been excited if I was pregnant?" The girl's question obviously took the point man off guard because his face registered surprise.

"What? I don't know. Why does it matter? Because you're not, right?" he asked checking.

"No, but I was just curious," the girl finally mumbled. She began fiddling with her fries again. Arthur could see the girl seemed upset so he finally reached out a hand and gently grasped her chin lifting her face so their eyes could meet.

"I don't think I'm ready to have kids yet, but I would hardly walk away from you if we found ourselves in that situation. It takes two to tango after all."

Ariadne smiled and shook her head. "You always know exactly what to say. You're too perfect. I'm beginning to think you're just a figment of my imagination."

"Hey, check your totem, it's the only way to be sure," Arthur joked. Ariadne smiled, but did actually reach into her pocket for her totem just to be sure.

"So, what's this job Eames offered you?" Arthur asked as he finally began eating his own hamburger.

"A business man wants an extraction done on his son, who he believes might be giving his enemy's his secrets, and he also wants an extraction done on some competitor who he thinks is working on some big secret project," Ariadne explained.

"Whose on the team?"

"Well Eames, and an extractor named Philip Long."

"Philip Long," Arthur mused.

"Have you worked with him before? Eames said he was a pretty decent guy and that he's fair."

"Yeah Philip's a pretty good guy," Arthur finally relented.

"So, do you think I should take the job?" Ariadne asked.

"Do you want to take the job?" Arthur countered. Ariadne sighed as she set her burger back on her plate.

"Honestly, I don't know. The pull to create, to do another extraction, is really strong. However, I don't know that I want to give in to the addiction. After going through Cobb's subconscious so thoroughly I worry about the long term effects that shared dreaming can have. I think it would be wiser to actually find myself some legal work," Ariadne confided to her boyfriend.

"Ariadne, I'm not going to tell you what to do," Arthur finally sighed. He held up a hand of protest as Ariadne tried to speak.

"Let me finish. Ultimately, this is a choice you have to make on your own. I will say that I don't like the idea of you continuing to build dream worlds. I think you're incredibly talented and could do some much more impressive work in reality. After our mission to rescue Cobb, however, I know that you now understand the risks involved in doing extractions and it would be hypocritical of me to tell you 'no you can't do it,' when I continue to. So, if you want to take Eames' offer then you have my full support."

Ariadne grinned. "Again, I worry you aren't real."

Arthur laughed as he tackled the girl to the bed. "Hey, watch out for my food!" Ariadne scolded as she tried to fend off Arthur's tickling attack. After a few more minutes of torture Arthur released Ariadne and returned to his dinner.

"So, what time did you tell your parents we'd be by their place tomorrow?" Ariadne asked. A thick silence filled the air. "Arthur?"

"I might not have called them yet," he replied guiltily.

"What? Get on that cell phone right now!" Ariadne snapped.

"I was thinking we could just surprise them. That way they won't have time to prepare a lecture for me."

"Arthur!" Ariadne cried in frustration. The man laughed as he took in his girlfriend's angry expression.

"Aren't you always badgering me about how surprises are fun and I need to be more spontaneous?" Arthur asked.

"I don't think this is a good time to start acting spontaneous," the girl lectured.

Arthur just laughed as he leaned towards Ariadne to give her a long kiss. Soon enough the young man's hands were wandering across his girlfriend's body and their food was all but forgotten.

**Note: Thank you to everyone who took the time review last chapter. I posted a one-shot Inception story yesterday called Birthday Surprise, be sure to go check it out when you get a chance and review it!**


	5. Chapter 5: Meeting the Parents

**Past, Present, and Future – Sequel to Extraction **

**Chapter 5: Meeting the Parents**

**Note: I do not own Inception. Thanks to those of you who reviewed! **

"I still can't believe we're just going to show up at their doorstep!" Ariadne huffed as she and Arthur drove in their rental car to his parent's house. "How do you even know they're going to be home?"

Arthur's eyes darted to the rear-view mirror before he finally answered. "It's Sunday night. They always do family dinners on Sunday," he explained. Ariadne nodded in worry. She could tell Arthur was tense, as his knuckles were turning white from clutching the steering wheel so hard.

"I thought doctors were notorious for working long hours. How do they manage to all get Sunday nights off?" Ariadne asked, hoping that talking would keep Arthur from bottling his worry and fear up inside.

"My parents were always very strict with their work schedules. There's always going to be some emergency, so they really had to just learn to say no unless it was absolutely necessary. If not my parents probably could have gone weeks without seeing each other, or my brothers and me," Arthur explained, his eyes once again darting to the rear-view mirror.

"So, family dinner, does that mean your brothers and their significant others will be over tonight?"

"Probably."

"Wow, you decided to just hit all the birds with one stone, huh?" Ariadne joked. Again Ariadne noticed the uneasy look that crossed Arthur's features as he glanced in the rear-view mirror.

"May as well. It's not like it would have been any easier seeing them all separately."

"What do you keep looking at back there?" Ariadne finally demanded as she turned in her seat to look out the back window. She didn't see anything unusual, just some light traffic.

"I think someone's tailing us," Arthur finally admitted.

"Which vehicle?" Ariadne asked.

"Blue Ford Focus," he replied.

"I don't see any blue vehicles at all."

"Right lane, about three cars back," Arthur explained.

"Oh," Ariadne said as she finally noticed the car.

"So, what do we do?"

"Continue to our destination," he replied.

"What? But-"

"Shh, and just let me drive please." His voice was strained, but Ariadne knew that the anger she could sense in his tone wasn't actually directed towards her. So, reluctantly, the girl turned back around in her seat and stayed quiet, trying to catch glimpses of the car in her side mirror.

Finally Arthur pulled onto a quieter street, with some very nice large houses. Ariadne whistled.

"Is this the street your parents live on?"

Arthur nodded. "Yeah, everyone in this neighbourhood is like a doctor, lawyer, or accountant."

"Well I guess so," the girl said as her eyes bulged to take in all the sites.

"That's their house, on the left," Arthur said nodding in the direction of the place he meant.

"Are we still being followed?" she asked worriedly.

"I don't think so. I think I was just being paranoid, but I'm going to drive around the area for a bit longer just to be sure." Ariadne nodded in agreement; after all, they didn't need to bring any trouble to his family's doorstep.

Finally, convinced that they weren't actually being followed, Arthur pulled the car over to the side of the street and stopped in front of his parent's very large and well-kept house. The dwelling was massive, with Greek style columns lining the front entrance. The place looked like it had recently been given a new coat of white paint and even the black trim seemed bright and new. The grass was perfectly manicured and such a flawless shade of green that Ariadne vaguely wondered if it too hadn't been painted.

Arthur took a deep breath. "I guess we should go knock."

"It'll be fine," Ariadne reassured her boyfriend as she reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. He smiled in response and the two stepped out of their black rental car.

Once out of the cramped car Arthur smoothed his expensive Armani suit and fixed his tie. He then checked his reflection in the side mirror of the car quickly.

"Are you sure I look okay?" he asked Ariadne as he came around the car to link her arm through his.

"You look incredibly professional and dapper. They'll be impressed for sure!" The girl reassured her boyfriend. Arthur nodded and swallowed nervously. Ariadne patted his arm reassuringly as they began walking up the long wide driveway. Ariadne's neutral colour peep-toe stilettos tapping with each step they took. The girl smoothed a hand over her own outfit once more just to be sure she would be presentable. She had opted for a simple black sleeveless cowl neck dress, which hit just above her knees and had done her hair in a loose side-swept bun.

Soon they were at the front door. Arthur took another couple of deep breaths. Ariadne shook her head and grinned. "You weren't even this nervous when we were about to infiltrate a house full of armed Cobol operatives to rescue Cobb."

Arthur chuckled nervously. "Yeah, give me some armed crazy mobsters any day." Finally the young man had worked up the courage to reach for the doorbell. He pressed the tiny glowing button and the couple waited as the loud booming ring echoed throughout the house.

A few moments later a blonde haired woman who appeared to be a little older than Ariadne answered the door.

"Yes?" she asked politely as she took in the couple standing before her. However, before Arthur could respond a man came up behind the girl. He was a few inches taller than Arthur, but he had the same dark hair as Arthur and Ariadne felt like they had similar eyes and noses.

The man eyed the couple momentarily before finally asking, "Arthur?" Arthur let out the breathe he had been holding and grinned.

"Hey Archie."

"Oh my God!" the man cried as he slapped a hand to his forehead in disbelief.

"What is it?" called another woman from a room farther in the house.

"Mom, have I got a surprise for you!" Archie called as he ushered Arthur and Ariadne inside. The man led them into a formal looking parlour. The furnishings in this room were so immaculate Ariadne couldn't help but gawk.

In the room there was an older couple sitting side by side in two large upholstered chairs by the large bay window; these, Ariadne guessed, had to be Arthur's parents. A younger man, who seemed to have a combination of both Archie and Arthur's features was seated on a wooden bench across from Arthur's parents and situated beside him was a redheaded woman who smiled warmly at Ariadne when their eyes met.

_That must be Arthur's brother Aaron and his wife _Ariadne thought to herself. Finally the blonde who had greeted them at the door settled herself on a loveseat under a large mirror on the western wall of the room.

_That girl must be Archie's wife to be, _Ariadne mused. There was silence as Arthur's parents took in both Arthur and Ariadne. Finally, it was Arthur's brother Aaron who spoke up.

"Arthur?" he asked unsure, as he stood from his seat on the bench and walked towards his little brother.

"Yeah," Arthur replied.

"Crazy right?" Archie bellowed as he slapped Arthur on the back.

"Oh, Arthur," Arthur's mother now wailed as she flew from her chair towards her youngest son. She was a short woman, barely five feet tall, but she nearly knocked Arthur over as she rushed to embrace him. Arthur's father rose now too. He too wasn't that tall maybe five feet 8 inches, but he had a presence about him that felt very intimidating and Ariadne couldn't help but take a step back as he approached.

After Arthur's mother had finished hugging her son, Arthur's father stepped forward and merely extended a stiff hand in Arthur's direction. Arthur clutched his father's hand giving it a firm shake and the older man grunted his approval. With the shock slowly wearing off, Arthur's mother remembered her manners and turned to the two confused girls in the room.

"Lisa, Candice, this is our youngest son Arthur," the woman quickly introduced. "and . . ." she faltered when she turned her attention to Ariadne.

"This is my girlfriend Ariadne," Arthur quickly offered.

"What a beautiful name!" Arthur's mother exclaimed as she reached for the young girl and embraced her. "It's wonderful to meet you!" She pulled away from the girl and continued. "My name is Lilly and this is my husband Daniel, we're Arthur's parents."

"It's nice to meet you," Ariadne greeted politely.

"Why don't you two take a seat on the couch," Arthur's father finally offered as everyone else returned to their own seats.

"Well Ariadne that man on the bench is Aaron, Arthur's oldest brother, and his wife Lisa," Arthur's mother continued with her introductions. "And the man wearing the goofy grin on the loveseat is Arthur's other older brother Archie, and his fiancée Candice."

"Pleasure to meet you all," Ariadne greeted and Arthur nodded his own greeting to his brothers' significant others.

"So, to what do we owe this unexpected, but very pleasant surprise?" Lilly finally asked her son.

"Uh, well," Arthur paused as he looked at Ariadne who squeezed his knee for support. "It's just been awhile and I guess I thought maybe it was time we finally caught up."

"Ten years with no word _is_ a long time," Aaron replied coldly.

"We didn't know if you were dead or alive," Archie continued to try and take the edge off his brother's words.

"We tried to find you, obviously, but after you dropped out of Yale and left the work placement one of your professor's had found you, well it was like you just disappeared," Arthur's mother said gently.

"Yeah," Arthur said as he rubbed his hands together in nervousness.

"So, what happened? You didn't finish university or your work placement, so what do you do now?" Arthur's father demanded. His arms were crossed over his chest in a negative stance now.

"Uh, well I'm a free-lance researcher," Arthur replied. Ariadne nodded encouragingly. The two had gone over Arthur's cover story earlier that morning, as the young man doubted his parents would be as open to the idea of his real occupation as Ariadne's parents had been.

"Really," his father replied in such a condescending tone that Ariadne cringed.

"Which means what exactly?" Arthur's mother prompted gently, but she sounded wary.

"Uh, well, governments, businesses, law firms, and so on, hire me to do research for them on various topics, such as their competition, or maybe a client."

"And does being a free-lance researcher pay well?" Archie asked, his nose crinkling a little as though the idea were distasteful to him.

"Extremely," Arthur said smugly now, as a smirk pulled at his lips. Ariadne grinned too, if only they knew.

"And you enjoy this work?" his mother urged.

"Nothing quite like it," Arthur replied firmly, again exchanging a conspiratorial smile with Ariadne. There was a long pause now as everyone took in this information.

"Um, so Ariadne, was it?" Lisa finally asked to break the uncomfortable silence. Ariadne nodded. "What do you do?" Lisa asked in a warm friendly tone. Ariadne was relieved and instantly liked the woman.

"I'm an architect. Well in the process of becoming one. I'm actually doing graduate work at a university in Paris."

"France?" Candice asked. Ariadne turned to the blonde woman and nodded affirmatively.

"So, you haven't actually built anything yet?" Arthur's father asked, that condescending tone still present.

"I've done a few things, but nothing too major," Ariadne replied coolly. She couldn't help herself; if the man wanted to be passive-aggressively rude then she could play that game too.

"So, how did you two meet?" Lisa continued quickly, to keep Arthur's father from completely ruining the mood.

"Uh, on a job actually," Ariadne replied, grinning as she recalled the Fischer job.

"On a job? How exactly?" Aaron asked now sounding confused. However, he seemed genuinely curious.

"Uh, I was doing research for a Japanese videogame company - it was for a new historical fantasy game they were in the process of developing. And Ariadne was working for the same company designing mazes and different levels for the characters in the game to go through," Arthur hurriedly explained.

"Working for the Japanese, now that's impressive," Archie joked as he nodded his head, a goofy grin re-plastering itself on the young man's face. At that moment Ariadne's cell phone rang. She reddened as she rummaged through her purse to find the device.

"Sorry, I should have shut this thing off," the girl apologized.

Once she had found her phone she glanced at the call display. "That's right I was supposed to call Eames back last night!" the girl wailed. She then turned to Arthur smacking his arm none too gently. "You distracted me!"

Arthur grinned. "Somehow I'm not sorry."

"Excuse me," Ariadne apologized as she hurried back towards the front entrance to take her call. "Hello, Eames. I am so sorry!"

Arthur's family shuffled uncomfortably now, unsure of what conversation to strike up next.

"She seems like a lovely girl," Aaron finally offered in the way of conversation.

"Yeah, she is," Arthur agreed distractedly. He was straining to hear what Ariadne was saying to Eames. The two hadn't discussed his job proposal any further last night, so the point man wasn't sure what she had decided. A moment later the girl returned to the room, offering Arthur a forced smile from the entrance to the parlour.

"You took the job?" he guessed.

"Yeah," Ariadne nodded her head, looking a little guilty.

Arthur sighed, but nodded his head in understanding. "I'm glad," he said at last. "Like I said, Phil's a good guy and Eames will take of you."

"I just couldn't say no," Ariadne offered, as she re-took her seat next to Arthur.

"I know what you mean," Arthur agreed.

"Uh, so you just got a job offer?" Arthur's mother asked to try and get the family involved in the conversation too.

"Um yes, it's for a guy I've work with in the past," Ariadne explained.

"Doing what exactly?" Arthur's father asked, though he didn't sound too interested in knowing the answer.

"Uh, I'm actually not exactly sure," Ariadne murmured as she tried to think of a lie. "The guy just said they needed an architect's opinion on some things they're working on."

Everyone had an uneasy confused sort of look on their faces as though they could tell Ariadne was holding something back. Finally, Lisa came to rescue again.

"Would anyone like some dessert?" the redheaded woman asked as she jumped out of her seat. "I baked an apple pie and Candice brought a peach cobbler."

"Oh yes! Let's head out to the back patio for some dessert," Arthur's mother agreed and with that everyone headed out of the room leaving the awkwardness momentarily behind them.

**Note: Well that is Arthur's family. What did everyone think?**


	6. Chapter 6: Spontaneity

**Past, Present, and Future – Sequel to Extraction **

**Chapter 6: Spontaneity**

**Note: I do not own Inception. **

"Candice, Lisa, the desserts you two made were delicious!" Ariadne praised as she clutched her empty dish in her lap.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Lisa replied. Candice just smiled and nodded her thanks.

"Here, why don't you let me get your dishes," Lisa offered as she stood.

"Oh no, let me help you," Ariadne insisted as she took Arthur's bowl and her own towards the kitchen as Lisa and Candice collected the other dishes. Once the young women had retreated to the kitchen Aaron leaned forward in his lawn chair towards Arthur.

"Arthur, I have to know. Why did you just cut ties with us? I mean, ten years is a long time," Aaron asked. The man sounded hurt more than angry though.

"I don't know. I guess it was for childish reasons. I didn't want to come back and face mom and dad's disappointment. So, I just kept myself busy with work and before I knew it ten years had passed," Arthur finally explained as he scuffed his feet on the wooden deck.

"Disappointment?" Arthur's father asked gruffly in confusion.

"Yeah, disappointment," Arthur repeated looking at his father now.

"What makes you think we were disappointed in you?" he asked brusquely, though he did appear to be genuinely curious now.

"Uh, because you always were. You wanted me to be a doctor, and I didn't want to do that," Arthur explained confusion now etching its way onto his own features.

"Honey, we have never been disappointed in you!" Arthur's mother cried. "We always thought that with your intelligence you could make some incredible contributions to medicine, but we were never disappointed in any of the decisions you ever made!"

"Well except for maybe the one where you decided to cut ties with us and completely fall off the face of the planet for ten years," Archie joked, which earned him a glare from his mother.

Arthur actually laughed now, as he ran a hand through his hair absorbing this new information with trepidation.

"I can't believe you thought mom and dad were actually disappointed in you! I mean you went to Yale at 16! I certainly never went to an ivy league medical school," Aaron scoffed.

"But, I mean, come on, you guys all heard dad's condescending tone tonight when I told him what I do for a living! You can't tell me you got 'gushing with pride' out of that!" Arthur defended himself as he shot a curious look at his father.

"Of course I'm proud of you boy!" Arthur's father finally spoke up abruptly. "I just don't believe one should ever get too comfortable. If I'm not a little hard on you boys then how will you ever grow and achieve great things?"

Arthur shook his head in disbelief, "I can't believe what I'm hearing."

* * *

><p>"You know Ariadne, you and Arthur make a really cute couple," Candice declared as she and Ariadne dried the dishes Lisa was washing.<p>

"Thank you and happy belated congratulations on your and Archie's engagement," Ariadne replied.

"Oh, that's right! You and Arthur will have to come to the wedding! It'll be simple enough for us to add the two of you into the wedding party," Candice stated. She set the fork down that she was drying and whipped a cell phone out of her jeans pocket. "I'm just texting my wedding planner now, so she can start making the necessary arrangements!"

Ariadne's eyes widened. "Uh, don't go to any trouble, I don't know that I really need to be a member of the wedding party."

"Of course you need to be a bridesmaid! I mean Archie is going to want Arthur as a groomsman!" Ariadne shook her head at the girl's excitement.

"Okay, okay, if you insist."

" I do!" Candice assured Ariadne, and with her texting done she got back to work drying the dishes.

"Was it your idea that Arthur re-connect with his family?" Lisa finally asked, as she slowly washed some more cutlery.

"Yeah, kind of," Ariadne admitted.

"Well, I'm glad. They've all really missed Arthur. They didn't necessarily talk about him much, but every once in awhile they'd mention something; never his name, but you could tell they were talking about Arthur," Lisa explained. "They always seemed so sad. I think it hit Aaron pretty hard. I mean he was the oldest. I think he felt responsible, like he should have done something to prevent Arthur from disappearing."

"I don't think Arthur ever blamed his brothers. He told me he felt like his parents were really hard on him, pushing him to be a doctor and everything. So once he kind of escaped he just didn't bother keeping in touch," Ariadne explained.

"Well it's good he's back. I doubt the wounds can ever be fully healed, but at least maybe they have the chance to try and be a family again. It'll be nice for my little guy to have two uncles. I'm an only child you see," Lisa explained as she placed a hand on her rather flat looking stomach.

"Little guy?" Ariadne asked raising an eyebrow in question.

"I'm pregnant," Lisa explained. "Only four months, but I guess I'll start showing soon enough."

"Oh congratulations!" Ariadne cried excitedly.

"Thanks," Lisa gushed as she finally finished the last of the dirty dishes and pulled the drain stopper out of the sink. After Lisa gave the kitchen a quick once over she declared the place clean.

"Let's go join the happy family, shall we?" she asked.

"Unless they've killed each other in our absence," Candice joked. Ariadne raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes debates can get pretty heated around here," Candice explained and Lisa chuckled.

"Yeah, over the silliest things too. For instance, just last week Archie and Aaron nearly got in a fistfight over which X-Men character is the toughest, or something like that," Candice said shaking her head. Ariadne chuckled politely now too.

"Glad to see you ladies are getting along so well," Archie declared as the three giggling women came back to the outdoor patio.

"So, did you guys work everything out?" Lisa asked as she plopped down on a lawn chair next to her husband.

"More or less," Arthur replied.

"So, how long are you guys in town for?" Archie asked.

"We leave tomorrow morning," Arthur replied quickly. "We're heading to Phoenix. I own an apartment down there and then we'll be heading to Ariadne's parent's place. They live in Denver."

"Oh, do you really have to leave so soon? I was hoping we could do a family dinner!" Arthur's mother said.

"We really do have a schedule to keep-" Arthur began, but Ariadne cut him off.

"What schedule? I'm not in school and you have no jobs lined up at the moment."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Well you do have a job, for Eames, remember? Besides, you now I like sticking to plans."

"Yeah, sticking to plans, like on the Leeson job?" Ariadne asked sarcastically, scrunching her nose now. She then deepened her voice in an obvious attempt to mimic Arthur. "Hey guys let's just put all this enormous pressure on Ariadne to come up with an awesome maze in like ten seconds so that we can do something unexpected and incredibly stupid."

"It was not stupid! If you recall everything worked out fine, and besides, that's different, you can't always plan for everything on a job!" Arthur's family all sat silently now as they watched the heated exchange between the two lovers.

"Well you can't always plan reality either, be spontaneous once in awhile Arthur!" Ariadne snapped.

"Fine! When would you like this family dinner mother?" Arthur retorted as he turned to face his mom. The older woman blinked a few times, obviously still a little lost over what had just transpired.

"Uh, well can everyone get away tomorrow night?" she finally asked. Everyone began pulling phones out of their pockets and began rifling through their electronic schedules.

"I have nothing planned," Arthur's father finally declared, his brow furrowed in thought.

"I have something, but I can get out of it," Archie informed his family and Candice nodded her head in agreement.

"Tomorrow would be lovely," Lisa replied.

Aaron fiddled with his phone a little longer than everyone else before finally answering. "Well, if we do a late dinner, say 7:30, then I can make it."

"Wonderful, we'll do another family dinner tomorrow night then! Maybe we should go out somewhere nice," Arthur's mother suggested.

"I'll make some reservations," Arthur's father finally grunted.

"Do you mind if it's a celebratory dinner?" Arthur asked a moment later, a coy look in his eyes.

"Of course not. What are we celebrating?" Arthur's mother asked. A grin tugged at the corners of Arthur's mouth.

"Well?" Archie asked when Arthur did not continue. Finally, the point man reached into his jacket pocket and removed a small velvet black box and got down on one knee in front of Ariadne.

The girl's hands flew to her mouth in shock, her eyes holding a look of disbelief and surprise. "W-what are you doing?" she finally stuttered.

"Being spontaneous," he joked and then returned a serious look to his face. "So, Ariadne, will you marry me?"

"Just thought you'd skip the renting an apartment relationship milestone, huh?" Ariadne finally babbled through her hands, which still covered her mouth. Arthur just grinned.

"Well, of course my answer is yes!" the girl finally cried as she leaned forward to kiss Arthur's lips.

Arthur's brother Archie let out a whistle, and Candice and Lisa clapped their hands in congratulations and excitement. Arthur slipped the elegant diamond ring onto Ariadne's finger easily and the girl held her hand out so she could admire it.

Arthur's mother then jumped up and rushed to hug Ariadne. Arthur's father gave his son a reserved nod, and Arthur's brothers each gave Arthur an affectionate slap on the back and a half sort of hug. Lisa and Candice both got up to hug Ariadne as well and whisper their congratulations.

"Oh my God, we have to call Eames and Cobb. Oh and Yusuf!" Ariadne said her hands shaking now with excitement as she sat back down in her lawn chair.

"Shouldn't your parents be on that list too?" Arthur joked as removed his cell phone from his jacket pocket.

"Oh, we can't just call them! We'll tell them when we go see them!" Ariadne informed her fiancé.

"Oh, of course," Arthur joked as he rolled his eyes. "But can I suggest we call Cobb a little later, it's awfully early in France right now. Plus, I don't have Yusuf's newest contact information, but I'll track it down later."

"Can we at least call Eames?" Ariadne pleaded looking ready to burst with excitement.

Arthur smiled and shook his head. "If we absolutely have to." He then turned to address his family. "Sorry, we just got to make one call." The point man's family were all smiling and nodded their understanding.

As his cell phone began to dial Eames' number Arthur turned it to speakerphone, so Ariadne and he could both hear and talk to the forger at once. The phone rang a long time before Eames finally answered; after all it was pretty early in the morning in London too.

"Arthur this better be good! I just went to bed like thirty minutes ago!" the forger snapped.

"Sorry, blame Ariadne she insisted on calling you, and you're on speaker" Arthur explained.

"Oh? Change your mind about the job offer already darling?" Eames asked his voice becoming more pleasant sounding, though it still contained an edge of tiredness to it.

"Not at all! I just wanted to call to tell you that Arthur just proposed! We're going to be getting married!" Ariadne squealed.

"What! No kidding?" Eames chuckled. "Damn, you don't waste any time do you? You just jump right in. I guess that's why Cobb likes you as his point man. Well, anyway, I guess you'll be in touch then? Seeing as how I'll be best man."

"You're not going to be my best man!" Arthur hissed.

"Oh, Arthur that sense of humour of yours never gets old," Eames joked.

"Don't worry I'll work on him Eames," Ariadne informed the forger.

"Thanks darling, I'll talk to you both soon.

"Bye," Ariadne and Arthur both called.

"What did that guy mean by 'that's why Cobb likes you as his point man?'" Archie finally asked, since the phone calling seemed to be done for the time being.

"I have no idea, he was probably high," Arthur replied dryly, which earned him a glare from Ariadne.

**Note: Well the proposal came out of nowhere, eh? I couldn't help it. I debated leaving more obvious hints in earlier chapters, but then I decided I wanted the proposal to be as much a surprise to my readers as it was to Ariadne. Plus, I think it shows how much of an impact Ariadne is having on Arthur, each changing the other for the better, by having him act spontaneously. However, that doesn't mean Arthur didn't do a little planning; after all he had the ring all ready, but who knows how long he's been carrying that thing around! I'd like to think he's had this in mind since his return from Egypt and his talk with Ariadne.**


	7. Chapter 7: Family Dinner

**Past, Present, and Future – Sequel to Extraction **

**Chapter 7 Family Dinner**

**Note: I do not own Inception. **

Arthur gave a low chuckle as his brother Archie finished his story. "You laugh bro, but seriously my work day is nothing but a gong show all the time," Archie insisted.

"You think you have it bad, at least you do not have Mrs. H as a patient," Aaron declared as he took a sip of his wine. Everyone at the table laughed now.

"Who is this Mrs. H?" Ariadne asked as the waitress began to clear the empty dishes from their table. The food had been delicious, but then Ariadne figured it should have been since nothing on the menu had been under fifty dollars.

"She's just a patient of mine, an elderly woman. She's actually quite sweet but she's in the office every other day or calling because she's convinced she's dying. Yet, if I make any suggestions, about getting some tests or blood work, she refuses, claiming she's ready to die," Aaron explained.

"If she's ready to die then why does she keep coming into the office and calling you?" Arthur asked.

"Well now that's the million dollar question isn't?" Aaron said, laughing again. "I think she's just looking for sympathy, her kids don't leave nearby so I'm sure they censor her calls and avoid her as much as possible."

"Poor woman, but honestly, her family should try and get her under control already!" Arthur's father said sternly.

"Can I get you anything else, some dessert menus?" the waitress asked as she returned.

"No, just the bill please," Arthur's father declared in his usual gruff voice.

"We have some delicious chocolate cake waiting back at our place," Arthur's mother said once the waitress was gone. "You'll all come back to our place for coffee won't you?" she asked the table's occupants.

Everyone agreed. As the group waited for the waitress to return with the bill an Asian man in a very nice suit approached the table. He came up behind Arthur and Ariadne so the duo didn't notice him.

"Arthur, just the man I've been meaning to get a hold of," drawled the professional looking man in a thickly accented voice, as he dropped a hand onto Arthur's shoulder.

Arthur turned in his seat to see who was addressing him. "Saito, uh Mr. Saito," he quickly correctly for the benefit of his family.

Saito smiled in response and turned to Ariadne. "A pleasure to see you again too my dear." Ariadne nodded her head in agreement.

"I'm surprised to see you here," Arthur said.

"Yes, just doing business as usual."

"So, you wanted to get a hold of me?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, I have a job opportunity I'd like to discuss with you. I understand Cobb is no longer in the business, but I trust you could put together and head an appropriate team. I'd of course hope to see Ariadne as architect; after all she is remarkable at what she does," Saito explained and threw a smile at Ariadne.

"I certainly would be interested in doing another job for you Mr. Saito," Arthur agreed fervently. "But it would of course depend on just what you're asking me to do. I'm not as adventurous as Cobb was."

"Of course, of course." Saito slipped Arthur his business card. "You can reach me at that number any time, no rush though, whenever you have some free time." Arthur nodded and pocketed the card.

"I also couldn't help but notice the ring, are congratulations in order?" Saito remarked as he addressed Ariadne now.

The girl blushed before responding. "Yes, Arthur proposed yesterday," the girl indicated Arthur now.

"How wonderful! Well, I will let you all get back to your celebrations then. Forgive my intrusion, and I look forward to working with you both again," Saito declared as he bowed slightly and took his leave.

"Was that Mr. Saito as in THE Mr. Saito head of-" Archie began, but was cut off by Arthur.

"Yes, yes. Now shall we head back to mom and dad's?" Arthur hissed as the waitress finally returned with the bill. Arthur's hurried response drew some quizzical looks from his family members, but Arthur ignored them.

* * *

><p>"Mmm, this cake is delicious!" Ariadne declared as she took another bite of Arthur's mother's creation.<p>

"She refuses to give me the recipe!" Candice cried now. "It's so unfair." The girl pouted, but then smiled to show she was only joking. A murmur of laughter broke out before a long comfortable silence set in.

At that moment Lisa returned to the dining room from her bathroom trip and broke the silence.

"Hey Arthur, there's a man outside snooping around your car. I don't know if he's a burglar or what, but maybe you guys should go scare him off?" Lisa suggested as she pointed towards the front of the house where Arthur had parked his rental vehicle.

Arthur got up with a confused look on his face, as did everyone else. Everyone was now heading towards the large window in the parlour to check out the prowler. As Ariadne approached she noticed Arthur's stiff stature.

"Should we call the police?" Arthur's mother asked worriedly as she tried to sneak a glance outside between her much taller sons who occupied the window.

"No, I think if we just go give a shout the guy will get spooked off," Aaron said as he began heading towards the door.

"No!" Arthur snapped quickly causing his brother to stop.

"No?" Aaron asked, eyes widening as he watched Arthur pull a small gun from the inside of his jacket. Arthur began pulling the thick panelled curtains closed.

"Arthur what is it?" Ariadne asked now as she hurried to squeeze by Archie to see outside, moving the curtains slightly. However, whoever Arthur had spotted was no longer by their car.

"Arthur?" Ariadne hissed determined to get an answer.

"What's going on?" Arthur's father asked his voice booming throughout the small space causing Ariadne to jump.

Arthur knelt on the floor and reached for a gun he had strapped to his ankle.

"Arthur, just how many weapons do you have on you?" Archie asked incredulously.

"And why do you have so many weapons on you?" Aaron continued.

Arthur tossed the gun to Ariadne now. "Secure my family in one of the front bedrooms upstairs and cover me," he instructed the girl. Ariadne nodded, but raised an eyebrow in question.

"It's Leeson," Arthur finally offered noticing her questioning look. Alarm fixed itself onto Ariadne's face.

"What do you think he wants?" Ariadne whispered before Arthur could leave the room.

"Well that's what I'm going to find out," he replied as he hurried towards the backdoor of the house.

"Where is he going? What's going on here?" Arthur's mother asked worriedly. Lisa nodded her head suggesting that was the question on her mind as well.

"We need to go upstairs," Ariadne said quickly as she gently pushed Lisa in the direction of the staircase. "Now!" Ariadne added forcefully when no one else moved.

"Who is that man outside?" Candice asked as she and Lisa allowed themselves to be escorted by Ariadne to the staircase.

"Someone you don't want to meet," Ariadne replied stiffly.

"Archie, Aaron, come on everyone!" Ariadne snapped again. Aaron seeming to finally understand the seriousness of the situation began to herd the rest of the family up the stairs as well.

Finally, everyone was in one of the guest rooms facing the driveway where Leeson had been moments before. Ariadne opened the window as silently as she could and closed the blinds halfway to provide some cover. She then grabbed a chair from the desk in the room and used it to help steady herself as she knelt at the window, gun at the ready.

Ariadne took some deep calming breaths to try and steady her shaky hands. Arthur had been giving her self-defence and shooting lessons for the past several months now, but Ariadne still wasn't a great shot. She just didn't seem to have a knack for it, but as she was Arthur's only back-up Ariadne was going to try her best to focus on the task at hand and pray she wasn't needed.

"Who is outside?" Archie hissed from his crouching position on the floor. Candice huddled close to him.

"Leeson, stop right where you are and put your hands where I can see them! Do it now!" Arthur's shouts could now be heard filtering in from the open window.

"How many others are with you?" Arthur barked. Ariadne scanned the area. She couldn't see any Cobol back up, but that didn't necessarily mean they weren't out there. Arthur's family was now silent as they strained to hear what was going on just outside their home.

Even Ariadne couldn't hear Leeson's responses from her spot by the window, but he seemed to be co-operating with Arthur's requests so far. Ariadne continued scanning the street, but it was silent, not a soul in sight, probably due to the fact that is was nearly 10:30pm on a Monday night and most of the people in this neighbourhood were working professionals who had to be awake early tomorrow morning for work.

"What's happening?" Arthur's father hissed now. Ariadne could hear him crawling towards her.

"Stay where you are!" Ariadne snapped angrily. The girl cringed; she hadn't meant to be so harsh. After all the man was just concerned for his family and his youngest son who was outside holding a man at gunpoint.

"Arthur's leading the man towards the house," Ariadne finally offered and a few moments later the front door could be heard opening and closing with a loud clatter.

"Ariadne!" Arthur shouted. The girl quickly abandoned her position at the window and headed for the bedroom door.

"Stay here!" she instructed; however, by the time Ariadne had reached the stairs Aaron was already hot on her heels as was the rest of Arthur's family.

"Arthur, what the hell is going on?" Aaron asked from behind Ariadne as everyone came down the stairs now.

"Do you have any rope?" Arthur asked not bothering to answer his oldest brother's question.

"Rope?" his father repeated.

"Yes, dad rope!" Arthur snapped.

"Uh, t-the garage," he finally stammered, his powerful gruff appearance finally cracking. Leeson was now standing in the parlour with his hands pressed against the wall chest level and his legs spread. Arthur's gun trained on him.

"Someone go get me that rope," Arthur yelled as he motioned for Ariadne to take his place beside Leeson. Ariadne raised her gun pointing it at Leeson, confident that even she couldn't miss at this range if the need arose. Arthur then began frisking Leeson.

"Got anything on you I should know about?" Arthur asked.

"Couple of knives strapped to my ankle and a gun tucked into the back of my pants," Leeson finally uttered.

"Rope!" Arthur snapped again when he noticed no one had gone to do as he had asked. This time Aaron obeyed and took off down a hall that Ariadne assumed led to the garage.

"How many others are there?" Ariadne asked worriedly, as Arthur removed the weaponry from Leeson's person.

"He claims to be alone," Arthur remarked as he felt the pockets of Leeson's pants. He then slipped his hands inside and removed the objects he had felt: a pack of cigarettes and a small Ziploc of marijuana. Arthur felt the back pockets of Leeson's pants now and removed a cell phone from one of them.

Leeson gave a low chuckle. " I definitely preferred it when your hands were down my pants sweetie," Leeson croaked as he turned his head slightly to glance at Ariadne.

"Shut the fuck up!" Arthur barked as he smacked Leeson in the back of the head. Aaron returned from the garage now, with various types of ropes in his hands.

"Get me a knife," Arthur instructed and Aaron obeyed returning moments later. "You know the drill, Leeson."

Leeson rolled his eyes and brought his hands behind his back so Arthur could tie them. Arthur then used the kitchen knife to cut the rope into the lengths he desired.

"Sit on the floor," Arthur instructed and Leeson turned and sat down, allowing his back to rest against the wall. Arthur then tied his feet.

"What does he want?" Ariadne asked Arthur once he had completed his task. Leeson just sat on the floor grinning.

"He claims to want our help. He wants to leave Cobol," Arthur informed her. He sounded unconvinced.

"I do want out! I don't know if you performed an extraction on me or what, but I know you were part of that extraction team who failed on the Saito job and I know you can help me get out!"

"What makes you think I can help you?" Arthur asked as he rested his hands on the pockets of his pants leisurely.

"You've managed to avoid Cobol's wrath this long haven't you?" Leeson smirked now, his eyes narrowing. "And I know you had to have something to do with Cobb's rescue operation, which is what makes me think you did perform an extraction on me. You're good at what you do. I'll give you that."

"Why me? Why do you want my help specifically? Surely one of Cobol's enemies would be able to offer you protection in exchange for information," Arthur asked.

"Because I wouldn't get within 500 feet of one of Cobol's competitors without getting shot. I figure that's where you come in. You get me in contact with one of Cobol's enemies, and then you can vouch for me," Leeson explained with a grin, his yellow teeth exposing themselves now.

Arthur laughed. "You're crazy if you think I'm going to help you."

"Oh, you'll help me," Leeson insisted.

"Okay I'll bite. Why are you so sure I'll help you?"

"Because it would be a shame if Cobol became aware of your pretty little play thing there." Leeson nodded in Ariadne's direction now.

"Well I could always just kill you now and solve all my problems," Arthur reasoned as he pointed his gun at Leeson again.

Leeson laughed. "Come on, give me some credit. I'll admit I'm not the smartest guy out there, but you don't become one of Cobol's top muscles by being stupid."

Arthur raised his eyebrows, obviously indicating Leeson should continue. "I've left instructions with my brother, to send an anonymous tip to Cobol that cutie over there was involved in the Cobb rescue mission, that is if he doesn't hear from me in the next 30 minutes."

"You're bluffing," Arthur hissed.

"Maybe, but are you willing to take that chance?" Leeson asked. Arthur cursed now and Leeson let out a loud gravely laugh.

"What makes you think I was part of the Cobb rescue mission?" Ariadne asked now trying to sound indifferent.

"I have my sources," Leeson sneered.

Ariadne shook her head in disbelief and then paused as realization dawned on her. "You hacked my cell phone!"

Leeson laughed now. "Yeah, just about anybody with half a brain can hack a cell phone nowadays."

Arthur cursed now. "Your pictures on your cell!" Ariadne gave Arthur a confused look so the point man continued, "you said they were school projects, but I saw some of them were of you and Sara!"

"Uh, yeah, I guess there might have been," Ariadne admitted still not seeing why Leeson getting a photo of her was devastating. "But I don't see how a picture of me and Sara in a park would suggest to Cobol I was part of the Cobb rescue mission."

Leeson laughed now. "You were at my brother's wedding! There's a security tape of you leaving the hotel, with that guy," Leeson indicated Arthur now, "the night Cobb was sprung, and seeing as your boyfriend is a person of interest to Cobol that alone would get Cobol's attention."

Arthur nodded his head as though he had already put this information together. Ariadne just stood wide-eyed.

"Plus, there's a large enough gap that you could have performed an extraction on me and then made it from Vancouver to the location Cobb was being held at no problem, the timeline fits. So, all Cobol would need is the photo of you and that security tape and you'd be drug in for 'questioning,'" Leeson sniggered. Arthur cursed again, obviously blaming himself for the whole situation.

"So, about you helping me," Leeson continued.

"How do I know you even want out of Cobol? How do I know this isn't some sort of set-up by your employer?" Arthur asked angrily.

"You don't, but I _do_ want out."

"Why?" Ariadne spat the word out, her worry turning to anger.

"My reasons are my own," Leeson barked harshly. Arthur then reached into his back pocket for his car keys.

"If he moves, shoot him," Arthur instructed Ariadne.

"Where are you going?" the girl asked anxiously.

"We need to go into his subconscious, see what his game is. I have everything we need in the trunk of the car," Arthur explained. Ariadne nodded and stiffened as Arthur left, her gun trained on Leeson.

Arthur's family was still huddled by the stairs obviously frightened; even Arthur's dominating father looked uncharacteristically frail. Ariadne tried to offer them a reassuring smile, but out of the corner of her eye Ariadne noticed Leeson pushing his back against the wall to help himself stand up.

"Leeson stop right now or I'll shoot you!" Ariadne warned. He just grinned and then continued to attempt to push himself into a standing position - a grunt escaping his lips from the effort.

At that moment a gun went off with a loud bang. Lisa and Candice both screamed in surprise. Leeson sank to the floor in surprise, but he was uninjured. The bullet had gone wide and had embedded itself in the wall just centimetres from where Leeson's shoulder had been.

"I told you not to move Leeson! Next time I _will_ shoot you," Arthur informed the man as he returned to the parlour. "Sorry, I'll pay for the damage." Arthur directed the last part at his parents. They had both sunk to the floor now and were clutching each other for support.

"Are we both going into his subconscious?" Ariadne asked, as Arthur set the familiar shiny suitcase on the coffee table and opened it.

"Whoa whoa, you aren't going into my head," Leeson said when he saw the device.

"If you aren't lying to us Leeson, then there's reason for you to be afraid," Arthur snapped.

"What is that and what the heck is going on?" Arthur's father demanded now as he re-gained his composure and got to his feet, though he did seem a little shaky.

"I can't explain right now," Arthur replied as he unravelled an IV and headed towards Leeson who was struggling against his bindings. "Stop resisting!" Arthur snapped as he approached Leeson.

However, Leeson ignored Arthur's suggestion and instead rolled to the side and kicked out with his bound legs. Arthur dodged the attack easily and tackled Leeson with a grunt. Trying to keep the much larger man pinned and still.

"Leeson, this is the only way I can know for certain that you aren't lying to me! If you want my help then you better start fucking cooperating!" Arthur shouted as he and the tied up Leeson continued to struggle on the floor. Archie, finally registering what was happening, hurried forward to help keep the large man still.

"I don't want you in my head! I'll cooperate if just the girl goes in!" Leeson finally gasped out.

"Can you handle it?" Arthur asked Ariadne, turning his head slightly so he could see the girl - she nodded. "Fine!" Arthur agreed and Leeson relaxed allowing Arthur to insert the IV.

"What are you going to do to him?" Archie asked as he crouched on his knees near Leeson. Arthur ignored his brother and went to Ariadne pulling her aside.

"Listen, when you go in be on your guard and remember if things get rough you can always kill yourself to wake up. I'm only going to put you under for two and a half minutes, giving you only thirty minutes in the dream," Arthur hurriedly explained to Ariadne in a hushed voice.

"Will that be enough time?" Ariadne asked.

"This isn't like a normal extraction. Leeson should be a willing participant if he's serious about wanting my help. So, all you'll have to determine is if the information he's feeding you is lies or not."

"What sort of layout do you suggest?" Ariadne asked.

"Leeson grew up in a duplex, a grungy looking place, with chipped paint, garbage and old cars out the front. It was a four bedroom, one bathroom place. It had grey walls, open concept floor design and old 70's style furniture throughout. Create something like that," Arthur said, obviously recalling some of the information he had found on Leeson back when they were going to go into his head to find Cobb's whereabouts.

"So, how will it work? Do I talk to his projections to try and get the truth out of them?"

"Yeah, dream that Leeson is still tied like he is here - in the living room of his place - so that you don't have any problems with him. Then, since you'll be re-constructing his childhood home he'll likely make one of the rooms in the house his old bedroom. You find that room and see if you can find a projection that's just a child."

Ariadne nodded her head in understanding and Arthur continued. "It's easier to interrogate children, you can tell when they're lying to you or withholding information. Also, we often admit our innermost feelings and secrets to that innocent and trusting part of our heart that still resides in us from our childhood days. No matter how crappy the childhood everyone is still born with a trusting child's heart, so there's always a tiny part that still clings to those innocent days. So, a child projection is often the manifestation and safe-keeper of those secrets and feelings."

"Wow, learn something new everyday," Ariadne muttered. Arthur nodded his face tight with worry.

"While you're under I'm going to do a quick sweep around the house. Leeson said he was the only one here, but I'm going to double check," Arthur informed her.

"Okay."

Ariadne moved to the couch now and grabbed an IV. "Leeson you better cooperate or I swear to God you'll regret it!" Arthur hissed through clenched teeth as he picked his gun up again.

"Arthur you need to start explaining some things!" Arthur's father began to shout in anger.

"See you in a couple of minutes," Ariadne said, giving Arthur an apologetic look. Arthur nodded pressing the button on the sleep-aid machine as he did so.

**Note: Sorry about the late update, well not late necessarily, but I do like to try to get the new chapters up before lunch! It was a long chapter to go through and I have been busy all day trying to get school documents all signed and up-to-date so I am ready for September and of course all the buildings I needed to get to where spread all over campus (bleh). Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8: Childhood Dream

**Past, Present, and Future – Sequel to Extraction **

**Chapter 8 Childhood Dream**

**Note: I do not own Inception. **

Ariadne glanced around at her handiwork. Considering she had no pictures to go on she couldn't be sure the place resembled Leeson's childhood home. However, it wasn't always about getting all the details exactly right. If the place was similar enough, Leeson's mind would fill in the rest, convincing itself that it was indeed his childhood dwelling.

Ariadne walked towards the front door of the house and clasped the brass knob in her hand giving it a turn and entered the duplex. The house opened into the living room and on the couch sat Leeson. He was tied like he had been in Arthur's parents place.

"What the hell is this? Why I am tied up? What's going on?" Leeson asked angrily.

Obviously, his mind hadn't yet caught on to the fact that it was dreaming; despite the conscious Leeson having known he was about to undertake shared dreaming.

"I don't know sir," Ariadne replied in an authoritative voice. "You don't remember anyone entering the place? Burglars maybe?" She continued.

"Yeah, yeah, that's what happened someone broke in and knocked me out and when I woke up I was like this!" Leeson snapped, his mind believing the scenario Ariadne had suggested. "Are you a cop?" he continued as he scrutinized Ariadne's appearance.

The girl was wearing some washed out jeans, holey runners, and a plain lavender t-shirt. Ariadne nodded. "Yes, I was in the neighbourhood working undercover when I got a tip about a possible break-in. I'm just going to check around upstairs and then I'll be back."

"Wait, untie me first!"

"I promise I'll be right back sir!" Ariadne called as she hurried up the stairs now, trying to move swiftly, but silently.

Once upstairs Ariadne by-passed the first door on the left because she had designed it to be a guest room. The first room on her right was the master bedroom, so she also by-passed this room. That left two more rooms and Ariadne wasn't sure which would be Leeson's bedroom. Finally, after a moment's hesitation she decided to try the farthest room on the left of the hall.

Ariadne slowly opened the door and jumped in surprise as her senses were suddenly bombarded by loud music. It sounded to Ariadne like Nirvana, but she wasn't sure, as the music was too loud to even be able to properly process it.

"Hey, who are you?" a teenage boy, with long shaggy hair shouted as he turned his music down. He stalked forward and grabbed Ariadne by the wrist, pulling her into his very messy bedroom, which had clothes strewn everywhere and the walls were plastered with posters of half-naked women.

"Sorry, wrong room!" Ariadne replied as she tried to back out of the room, but the teenage projection held her wrist firmly still.

"Hey, what's the rush?" he asked putting on that toothy grin Ariadne was beginning to realize was Leeson's trademark look.

"I'm looking for your little brother." She tried to reason with the projection now; after all she didn't want things to have to get violent.

"Aw you look too old for my little brother," the teenager said as he leaned toward Ariadne now. It seemed to Ariadne that the teenager was going to kiss her, so without even really thinking about it Ariadne reacted.

She twisted her arm out of the teenager's grip and spun around behind him holding his right arm behind his back. She then forced him towards the ground and his knees hit his carpeted floor as Ariadne put her right foot on his back to try to use her weight to keep him down.

"I need to find your brother and you promised to cooperate Leeson, remember?" Ariadne snapped through clenched teeth. After a moment's hesitation the teenage Leeson relaxed in Ariadne's grip. Obviously some part of his subconscious was remembering the agreement he had made. Ariadne released the teenager now and left the bedroom closing the door behind herself.

The girl silently praised herself, having just successfully pulled off one of Arthur's self-defence tactics that he had been painstakingly trying to drill into her for the past several months. Ariadne went to the other door now and opened it. This room was a disaster too, with clothing everywhere, but the walls were bare and only a few children's book and crayons littered the tiny green plastic table in the far corner of the bedroom.

"Leeson?" Ariadne asked. The girl got no response and the room was deathly silent.

"Thomas?" Ariadne tried again as she entered the bedroom now and closed the door behind herself.

"Tommy?" she tried, not sure what Leeson's childhood nickname might have been. "It's okay I'm here to help you!" Ariadne tried again. She then got down on her knees to look under the bed and sure enough two large child-like brown eyes stared back at her.

"Hey," Ariadne greeted trying to project a friendly demeanour.

"Hey," the kid whispered back.

"Want to come out?" Ariadne asked quietly.

"No."

"Why not?"

"The bad man will get me. He's mean and grumpy and yells at me and hits me!" The child blubbered as he buried his face into the carpet.

Ariadne silently wondered if this 'bad man' was the adult Leeson. Did Leeson often beat himself up over feelings he had that were in contradiction to the lifestyle he led? Ariadne couldn't be sure and she had no time to delve into that now. She had to figure out why Leeson wanted out of Cobol.

"The bad man is tied up downstairs. I just saw him," Ariadne reassured the boy. "I promise it's safe." The kid looked up from the carpet and his expression changed. He wanted to trust her, so Ariadne smiled.

The child edged forward on his belly, slowly, and Ariadne moved back to allow him room to exit his hiding spot. The boy poked his small head out from under the bed and looked around. After determining that his room was indeed safe he pulled the rest of himself out from under the bed.

"Tommy, does that bad man work for some bad people?" Ariadne asked, hoping she was saying the right thing. The boy, unlike his teenage self, had short hair shaved close to his head. He looked to be maybe seven or eight years old.

"Yes," the boy replied as he wiped his nose on the back of his hand and sniffled.

"Does he want to stop working for those bad people?"

"I don't know," the boy replied shaking his head. However, his voice quivered suggesting to Ariadne he did know, but was afraid to tell her because he was scared of getting in trouble.

"He must have told you Tommy. After all, he confides everything to you right?" The boy looked at his feet now and shuffled some of the clothes on the floor around.

"He's tied up downstairs. He can't get up here to hurt you, so it's okay to tell me," Ariadne tried again trying to keep her posture and tone as non-threatening as she could.

"H-he told me that the b-b-bad people t-t-ook Kaitie," the boy finally offered quietly.

"Kaitie?" Ariadne asked in confusion and then realization hit her. " Kaitie Leeson? His brother's wife?" The boy nodded emphatically.

"So, the bad people kidnapped Kaitie and this made the bad man angry?" Ariadne asked to clarify. The boy nodded again and turned his gaze to the floor.

"So, he wants to stop working for the bad people because they kidnapped Kaitie?" Again the boy nodded.

"Why did the bad people kidnap Kaitie?" Ariadne asked, confusion now plastering itself onto her face. However, the boy clammed up again, he stiffened and continued to stare at the carpet. Ariadne squatted down so she was eye-level with the boy and lifted his chin so his eyes met hers.

"Why was Kaitie kidnapped?"

"B-because . . ." suddenly a loud crashing sound came from downstairs. If Ariadne had to venture a guess she would have to say that Leeson had fallen off the couch and hit the coffee table in an attempt to get out of his restraints. Unfortunately, this caused the boy to run for cover and he was now back under the bed.

Ariadne cursed quietly, but the dream was beginning to fade. It wasn't the usual earthquake feeling, where the dream begins to violently shake and fall apart, but instead everything began to lighten and become transparent until it simply completely faded away. Then, Ariadne was back in reality and blinked her eyes as she slowly awoke and re-gained consciousness.

Aaron was examining the sleep-aid machine and Ariadne noted that Archie held her right wrist in his hand. He was feeling for her pulse. Arthur's father was gazing out of the large front window, between the closed curtain panels and Arthur's mother, Lisa and Candice huddled on the stairs together.

Ariadne turned to Leeson, he was slowly coming back to reality too. Archie gently released Ariadne's wrist now, realizing she was awake. Ariadne smiled at the man and then reached into her pocket and pulled out her totem.

"What's that?" Archie asked.

"A way to keep track of reality," the girl replied as she re-pocketed her totem, satisfied that she was no longer dreaming. Arthur came stalking back into the room.

"I didn't see anyone suspicious outside," Arthur declared. "How'd it go?"

"Good, it turns out Leeson is serious. He does want out of Cobol," Ariadne told her fiancé.

"That's what I've been telling you," Leeson barked now fully awake. Ariadne removed her IV and moved to join Arthur on the outskirts of the room, away from Leeson.

"Apparently Cobol has kidnapped Kaitie Leeson. I wasn't able to figure out why they have her, but I assume she's being used as leverage over Leeson," Ariadne whispered. Arthur nodded and turned to Leeson now.

"So, why did Cobol abduct your sister-in-law?" Arthur asked. Leeson glared back at Arthur.

"Why does Cobol ever take a loved one?" he countered.

"To make sure you obey them? To make sure you're not jerking them around?" Arthur guessed. Leeson nodded and his eyes narrowed.

"Look, all you need to know is I got in big shit over the whole Cobb escaping thing. So, they snagged Kaitie to make sure I take my job more seriously for the next little while."

"So, why do you want out now then? I would have assumed you'd be on your best behaviour to make sure your brother gets his wife back in one piece, or don't you care what happens to her?" Arthur asked as he sat on the coffee table to face Leeson.

"Of course I care!" Leeson shouted as he spat at Arthur, the wet projectile missed him, but Arthur still wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"So, why do you want out then?" Arthur repeated.

"Because they've gone too far! I could see them taking my dad or even my brother and I'd still be pissed, but Kaitie . . . Kaitie ain't part of none of this. She just married into this bull shit and she don't deserve it!"

Arthur nodded and crossed his arms in thought. "I still don't know what makes you think I can help you though."

"Are you fucking stupid? I already told you I need you to fix me up with one of Cobol's competitors because I can't get near any of them! Most of them won't hesitate to shoot first and not even bother with questions later! Plus, I want to be sure that if I'm fucking betraying Cobol that Kaitie is rescued! You being a rather upstanding guy, or so I've gathered, I figured you could see to the part of Kaitie getting rescued, work some kind of deal out for her."

Ariadne stepped forward now and placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder. "Arthur?" she asked gently. He turned and met her eyes, and though no words were spoken Arthur knew what Ariadne was thinking - they couldn't just leave Kaitie in Cobol's clutches. Arthur nodded in understanding and reached into his pocket pulling out Saito's business card – he had already committed the information on it to memory.

"This card contains the contact information for a . You know him?" Arthur asked, though he knew Leeson did.

"Obviously I know him," Leeson growled impatiently.

"Before I give you this card you call your brother and tell him destroy whatever information he is standing by to send to Cobol about her," Arthur said indicating Ariadne now.

"His number is in my cell," Leeson said. Arthur stood and retrieved the phone he had taken off of Leeson's person earlier.

"Number under Richie?" Arthur asked as he went into the phone's contact list.

"Yeah," Leeson chuckled.

"Cell or home phone?" Arthur asked as he brought up Richard Leeson's contact information.

"Cell number, he ain't at home," Leeson barked. Arthur nodded and clicked the appropriate number and placed the phone to his ear.

"Richie?" Arthur asked. "Yeah, I've got Tommy here. He's just fine, we've come to an understanding, and you're to destroy whatever you're standing by to deliver to Cobol."

"Talk," Arthur said as he placed the cell phone by Leeson's mouth.

"I'm fine Richie, this guy is going to help us," Leeson growled into the phone. Arthur took the phone back and placed it to his ear.

"I have your word that that you'll destroy the information you have?" Arthur asked. Arthur gave a nod and slammed the phone shut.

"I can promise you I ain't gonna give Cobol any info about you," Leeson said directing his attention to Ariadne and giving her his trademark grin. Ariadne involuntarily shivered.

"Well considering your record Leeson I don't trust your word. Your brother however, is a decent guy who just wants his wife back. So, I'm willing to go out on a limb and trust him. However, if either of you screw me over I will make you pay!" Arthur threatened.

Arthur then helped Leeson into a standing position. He returned one of Leeson's knives to the strap on his ankle and put the cell phone into his back pocket along with Saito's business card. Arthur grabbed Leeson's cigarettes and marijuana returning those items to him as well and then used Leeson's other knife to remove the rope binding his feet.

"I'm not untying your hands Leeson and you don't get your gun or this knife back," Arthur stated firmly as he waved the knife in the air for Leeson to see. Leeson glared at Arthur.

"I think your brother's nearby. So, you won't have any trouble." Leeson glared at Arthur, but nodded in understanding.

"Now, when you call Saito you tell him your sob story. Tell him Arthur put you in contact with him," Arthur explained.

"What if he don't believe me?" Leeson asked.

"Then tell him Arthur wants to know how he enjoyed limbo."

"How he enjoyed limbo?" Leeson repeated giving the point man a questioning look. Arthur nodded.

"Isn't that a dance?"

"You just contact Saito and if he gives you any problems you tell him Arthur wants to know how he enjoyed limbo," Arthur repeated his instructions firmly.

"And you'll make sure Saito rescues Kaitie?" Leeson confirmed. Arthur nodded and Leeson's face tightened as he gave Arthur a slight nod in thanks.

"I hope we never meet again," Arthur said.

"Me too," Leeson agreed as he headed for the front door. Arthur walked with him and opened the door, since Leeson's hands were still bound. After ensuring the man was actually leaving the premises Arthur returned to the living and his very shaken family.

**Note: Well another chapter done. Not a lot of action, since this story is short, but just a little for you to enjoy. This story is nearly done. It's only going to have 10 chapters so be sure to take the time to review because you are running out of chances!**


	9. Chapter 9: Explanations

**Past, Present, and Future – Sequel to Extraction **

**Chapter 9: Explanations**

**Note: I do not own Inception. **

After a long uncomfortable silence Aaron finally spoke up. "Okay, I know everyone here is thinking it, so I'm just going to come out and say it. Arthur, what exactly is it that you do for a living?"

Arthur sucked in a deep breath and headed for the couch where he plopped down. Ariadne gave him a weak, but encouraging smile as she sat down next to him.

"Arthur, honesty really is always the best. My parents survived the news. I'm sure your family will understand too," Ariadne offered as she reached for his hand to give it a comforting squeeze. "Besides, after all this you can't _not_ explain things." Arthur sighed and squeezed Ariadne's hand back.

"Arthur?" Aaron asked, when the point man didn't immediately answer.

"Have you heard of shared dreaming?" Arthur asked at last.

"I think I've heard about something like that before, in regards to the military. Weren't they trying to put soldiers into a dream state and then link the minds of a number of soldiers so they could practice fighting and killing in a virtual-type world before going out in the field and actually doing it?" Archie asked.

"That's correct," Arthur said nodding his head.

"But they found it wasn't possible, didn't they?" Arthur's mother asked softly her voice quivering ever so slightly. "I'm sure I read an article about it somewhere."

"Oh, it is possible. But of course they didn't want the public to know it's possible to share dreams, to actually enter a dream world in a semi-conscious state," Arthur said.

"Why wouldn't they want the public to know? And _they_ who? The military?" Aaron asked now as he leaned forward in the seat he had taken moments before.

"_They,_" Arthur emphasized ominously, "don't want the public to know because in the dream state a person's conscious defences are lowered and it makes ones thoughts vulnerable to theft. It's called extraction. Can you imagine the panic it would cause if people knew their deepest secrets could be taken from them while they slept and then after waking not even know they'd had anything stolen?"

"Extraction? What are you talking about Arthur? How do you know all this?" Archie demanded, his usual more easy-going attitude gone now.

"Yale," Arthur stated and when he saw the confused looks on his family's faces he continued. "The professor at Yale who go me my work placement with the military introduced me to the concept of dream sharing."

"Yale?" Arthur's father asked sceptically. Arthur nodded.

"So, what are you saying exactly Arthur?" Archie asked now his tone less hostile than it had been a few moments earlier.

"After my time with the military I met a very interesting man by the name of Dominic Cobb. Now Cobb was a man who had learned how to navigate people's minds through their dreams. So, now we have Cobb, an expert subconscious navigator and me an excellent researcher and somewhat of an expert on shared dreaming. Impressive sounding skills to say the least, but what we found is that their weren't a whole lot of legitimate ways to use those skills in the real world."

"Legitimate? As in Legal?" Candice asked, finally taking part in the conversation too. Arthur nodded.

"So, what is it you do exactly?" Arthur's father asked gruffly.

"Most of the time I'm a researcher, like I already told you; I hack the files of my various employer's competition."

"And then do what with this information?" Aaron asked, knowing there had to be more to Arthur's job description than that.

"Put it to good use." Arthur smirked now. His family just exchanged confused and worried glances with one another. Ariadne tried to keep a reassuring smile on her face in the hopes that this would calm his family a little.

"Generally there's one mark, whose background I check thoroughly, and then a team, which generally consists of an extractor, and an architect and maybe a point man, forger and chemist, depending on how complicated the job is, will use the information I find to go into the subconscious of the mark."

"His dreams you mean?" Lisa asked.

"Yes, and then once in the dream the team works to steal whatever information the employer wants, or plant an idea into the mark's subconscious, which is called inception," Arthur explained.

"Plant an idea?" Arthur's father asked as he leaned forward in his seat. He seemed interested now. His curiosity was obviously getting the better of him, despite the circumstances.

"Yes, it's a very complicated process. I've only ever heard of three scenarios in which a team has ever attempted inception and two of those teams were successful, but don't let the odds fool you, it is by no means easy."

"So, you research?" Aaron stated more than asked as he tried to wrap his head around everything he had just heard.

"Yes."

"Yesterday, when you called that guy to tell him about your engagement, he said you were the point man, you just brushed the comment off when I brought it up . . ." Archie trailed off.

"I often go into the dreams and act as the point man," Arthur verified.

"So, you're the one whose in the most danger then?" Arthur's mother asked now.

"Just because I'm at the forefront of the action doesn't mean I'm in the most danger," Arthur stated trying to calm his mother, whose composure was obviously cracking. There was a slight pause as everyone continued to process what had just been said.

"So, you're a thief, or you work with thieves basically?" Arthur's mother asked, breaking the silence, her hands were shaking now.

"Yes," Arthur relented, deciding that there was no reason to try to sugar coat anything.

"You mentioned architects?" Archie asked as he turned to Ariadne now, obviously the young man was beginning to put more of the puzzle pieces together. Arthur turned to Ariadne now, giving her a nod to indicate she should explain now.

"Yes, architects create the world of the dream and then the team brings the mark, or the subject, into that dream world, so they can try and steal the information needed," Ariadne explained.

"So, you're an architect?" Archie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I've only done a couple of shared dreaming jobs though. Once on an inception job and once on an extraction."

"One of the successful inception jobs?" Archie asked, his usual goofy grin beginning to find it's way to his face again. Ariadne smiled back feeling a little relieved. _Perhaps, if Archie is beginning to accept everything then the rest of the family will follow his lead_, Ariadne thought hopefully.

"Yes, it was a job Saito commissioned Cobb to do. I was working point and Cobb brought Ariadne in. It's how we _actually_ met," Arthur explained honestly.

"Saito, from the restaurant, had you perform inception?" Aaron asked incredulously.

"Oh my God," Arthur's mother said her hands now going to her lips as she shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe what I'm hearing."

"Now mom calm down," Archie said as he got up to comfort his mother.

"I'm sorry, I had hoped to spare you all this," Arthur explained. He did look remorseful as he watched his mother break down into sobs.

"Lilly, for crying out loud get a hold of yourself! I'm not even sure I buy all this hullabaloo!" Arthur's father bellowed as he got to his feet.

"Why don't we show you then? It's the only way we could make my parents understand," Ariadne offered.

"Show? Like take part in shared dreaming? So, you can rifle through our brains? No thank you!" Candice cried on the verge of hysterics herself, as she jumped out of her chair. Ariadne's face fell, _so much for everyone following Archie's lead_.

"We won't rifle through your thoughts! It's not as easy as Arthur made it sound anyway," Ariadne said softly as she moved towards Candice to try and offer her some support.

"And this job offer you got yesterday? That was to perform an extraction too?" Aaron asked Ariadne now.

"Yes, I worked with Eames on the inception job and he contacted me a couple of days ago because he needed an architect for an extraction job he's been brought in on."

"This just seems too unreal," Lisa said at last, clasping her hands tightly in her lap and shaking her head in disbelief.

"Then let us show you," Ariadne pleaded again softly.

"Yes, I want to see how this all works," Arthur's father finally declared. Arthur nodded, though he did seem a little surprised at his father's willingness to take part in shared dreaming. The point man then stood and indicated the suitcase on the table in front of him.

"This is what allows us to all enter the same dream," Arthur explained as he began unravelling an IV and then handed it to his father.

"I-I don't want to do this!" Candice cried as began to move towards the parlour's exit.

"Candice," Archie soothed as he moved from his mother to go and comfort his fiancée.

"You can't tell me after everything you've just heard and seen here tonight that you are honestly not going to try it?" Archie asked as he began ushering the girl back into the room and to her seat.

"We won't even be going into your subconscious Candice," Ariadne said softly.

"We'll be going into mine, so there's no way we'll be able to go through your thoughts at all. I promise you that," Arthur explained.

"Hey, we know my subconscious is polite, maybe we should go into my head," Ariadne joked.

Arthur grinned and shook his head. "I thought I'd let you focus on showing off your skills as an architect instead."

Ariadne smiled and then turned her attention back to Candice. "It's completely harmless. You watched as I went into Leeson's subconscious earlier, and saw how both of us came through unscathed," Ariadne explained gently. Finally, everyone had an IV inserted into their arm except Lisa and Candice.

"Are we sure this will be safe for me? I mean what sort of chemicals are you going to be pumping into me? I don't want to chance hurting my baby," Lisa said fearfully, as her right hand flew to her almost flat stomach.

"It's perfectly harmless stuff and won't have any negative side-affects on the baby or you. Aaron, you can come see what sort of sleep aid I'll be using just to be certain," Arthur offered and his brother nodded coming over.

"He's right. It's an extremely mild sleep-aid and he has it set at a very low dose. It won't negatively impact you or the baby," he agreed. Lisa nodded warily, but trusted her husband's judgement and allowed Aaron to insert her IV.

"Well Candice?" Archie asked now and the rest of the family turned to her expectantly.

"I guess," the girl finally relented, sounding unsure. Archie nodded and inserted her IV for her, the girl wincing slightly as he did so.

"Ok, everyone ready?" Arthur asked. Everyone nodded. "I'll give us just five minutes," Arthur said to Ariadne who nodded. Arthur then pressed the start button and the machine hissed to life.

**Note: Well next chapter we wrap everything up! Be sure to leave any questions you have in a review so I can be sure to address them in the last chapter. I always find that making sure I have all the lose ends tied to be the hardest part of writing the ending to a story.**


	10. Chapter 10: Beginnings

**Past, Present, and Future – Sequel to Extraction **

**Chapter 10 Beginnings**

**Note: I do not own Inception. Last chapter everyone and you know what that means, right? It's your last chance to review this story and let me know what you thought of it!**

Arthur and Ariadne were back in their hotel room and were snuggled together under the warm clean comforter on the large plush bed.

"Are you sure you want to marry me?" Arthur asked at last, breaking the comfortable silence between them. "I mean, I just kind of sprang this on you and in front of my family no less. I'd understand if you were just being polite."

"I wasn't just being polite!" Ariadne said firmly. "I want to marry you Arthur!"

"Just checking," he replied grinning, though he also sounded relieved. Ariadne chuckled as she playfully slapped his bare chest.

"Your family seemed to take everything rather well, don't you think?" Ariadne asked changing the subject.

"Better than I imagined, but I think they were happier when they thought I was just a free-lance researcher."

"Well sometimes ignorance _is_ bliss, but I think it's good you told them the truth. Now there's no more secrets and for better or worse they know the real you now," Ariadne said, placing a light kiss on her fiancé's lips.

"Thank you for helping me through this mess," Arthur said gratefully, as he brought Ariadne's hand, which was entwined with his own, to his lips to kiss it.

"You know after I you told about why I left home in the first place, I felt really silly," Arthur admitted through a laugh.

"Why?" the girl asked as she rested her head on Arthur's chest.

"It just sounded so childish, oh I ran away from my family because they pushed me too hard, they wanted me to be a doctor," Arthur whined, using a childish voice to mimic his earlier words.

"I would never judge you like that! Who am I to say what's stupid and what's not? For whatever reason, whether I thought it was a big or deal not, the way your parents pushed you really hurt your feelings," Ariadne replied firmly sitting up so she could look the point in the eye now. Arthur nodded, but still looked slightly embarrassed. Ariadne ran her hand over Arthur's bare chest soothingly.

"I held onto my teenage bitterness and anger for so long. I never really stopped to think about the fact that maybe my feelings towards the whole situation really were just that, you know, just part of the stupid teenager mind-set."

"I know I hated my parents when I was a teenager too. It's okay, I think everyone goes through that stage," Ariadne admitted soothingly.

"Yeah, I just never went back home to work my way through it I guess." Arthur rolled his eyes now and sighed.

"Better late than never," Ariadne replied with a smile, as she lay herself back down beside Arthur.

A long silence set in and Arthur actually thought Ariadne had fallen asleep, but then the girl spoke up.

"Do you think Saito will help Leeson?"

"Yeah, with me vouching for him Saito will believe Leeson is serious about wanting out of Cobol. Furthermore, Leeson will be able to give Saito some great inside information on Cobol, so he'll protect Leeson in exchange."

"And Kaitie?" Ariadne asked raising an eyebrow.

"I'll make sure Saito uses his influence and resources to get her out of Cobol's clutches safely," Arthur promised. The point man didn't explain how he'd bribe Saito to do this, but Ariadne trusted he had some sort of plan in the works. Ariadne nodded her head as she absently drew circles on Arthur's stomach with her index finger.

"Do you remember that first night when we went to visit your family and you thought we were being followed?" Ariadne finally asked Arthur.

"Yes," Arthur replied, a questioning look gracing his features.

"Do you think that that might have been Leeson?" Ariadne asked.

"Wouldn't surprise me."

"How do you think he knew we were in San Francisco?" Ariadne continued.

"My guess is that once he hacked your cell and realized he had a match with the hotel security tape, then it was easy enough for him to track your movements. I should have booked our flights under aliases," Arthur hissed in frustration. Ariadne opened her mouth to comfort the point man, but he continued before the girl could get a word out.

"I've let my guard down way too much these past few months. This whole situation with Leeson has made me realize that I've got to get back on my game," Arthur confided, as he hugged Ariadne closer to him, in a protective sort of way.

"I've been a bad influence I guess," Ariadne replied in an amused tone, though she did understand the seriousness of the situation.

"No, I've just let myself get careless. I've been pretending that I can lead a normal happy life, but I can't. _We_ can't," he emphasized in a firm and serious voice. "Not if we want to continue performing extractions."

Ariadne could feel Arthur tense and she nodded her head in understanding. Her gaze became downcast, as she got lost in her thoughts. The full impact of what Arthur had said finally reaching her.

"Can you promise me one thing though, Arthur?" Ariadne asked a few moments later, her tone serious.

Arthur rolled himself over top of Ariadne now. Propping his naked upper body up with his elbows as he looked his fiancée in the face. "Depends on what it is," Arthur replied honestly.

"Can you promise me that if we do decide to have kids one day that you'll quite doing extractions?" the girl asked softly. "I mean, I'd quit it all too obviously!"

Arthur sighed and he dropped his head to her chest. "I'd like to say yes, but I don't honestly know if I can give it up," he finally replied truthfully, raising his head again.

"Cobb did," Ariadne pointed out.

"Yeah," Arthur agreed as he got a faraway look in his eyes. Ariadne stayed silent while he pondered her request.

" I can promise you, I will make a very real effort to quit if we do decide to have children," the young man finally promised.

"I can live with that," Ariadne said at last, bringing her lips to Arthur's.

"So, when are you going to call Saito to get more info about the job he wants us to do?" Ariadne asked.

Arthur groaned and then laughed as he rolled off of Ariadne and back onto his own side of the bed. "Way to ruin the mood." The architect just smiled innocently.

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue (Several Months Later)<strong>

"Hey, sorry I'm late! I got stuck in traffic!" Sara called to Ariadne as she approached her friend. Ariadne stood from the small metal table she had been sitting at to greet Sara with a hug.

"The guys are just inside getting our drinks and snacks. I just told them to get you your usual, is that okay?" Ariadne asked.

The architect took her seat again and Sara took the one next to Ariadne's, as two men's jackets occupied the other two chairs. Sara quickly began fixing her wind-blown hair and hooked her purse on the back of her chair.

"Yeah, the usual is fine, but guys? Who is all here?" Sara asked giving Ariadne a confused look as she finished her hurried primping.

"Well Arthur, obviously, but the best man is finally in town now too. I thought it would be great for you to meet him before the actual wedding," Ariadne explained.

"Oh, well that sounds great," Sara said slowly, as she eyed Ariadne suspiciously. "Is this a set-up?"

"Not at all!" Ariadne declared as she shook her head and hands emphatically. Sara eyed her friend warily again, but at that moment Arthur emerged from the coffee shop with his best man in tow.

"Hello Sara," Arthur greeted as he set a steaming drink down in front of the girl and then one in front of Ariadne.

"Hi Arthur, sorry I'm late. I was just telling Ariadne that traffic was hell!" Sara apologized as her eyes flicked over to the man taking a seat beside Arthur now.

"Sara, this is Arthur's best man Eames, and Eames this is my maid-of-honour Sara," Ariadne quickly introduced once the two men had settled.

"Pleasure to meet you darling," Eames drawled as he extended his hand over the table to Sara. Sara reached tentatively for the forger's hand giving it a light shake. Eames smiled politely in response.

Once Sara had released Eames's hand she quickly snapped her head over towards Ariadne and grabbed her friend's hands in hers sharply. The girl opened her mouth wide like she might scream, but no sound came out. Ariadne just gave the girl a knowing grin in response.

"He has a British accent!" the girl finally squealed in a high-pitched whisper to her friend.

Ariadne's grin widened and she allowed a smug look to take over her features. "You're welcome"

"You're welcome for what?" Arthur asked in confusion, as he stirred some cream into his coffee.

Eames also gave Ariadne a confused and concerned sort of look as he took a sip of his coffee, his eyes darting between the two girls as they began to giggle conspiratorially.

"So, Eames, what do you do for a living?" Sara asked as she leaned over the table to position herself closer to the forger.

THE END

**Note: Well, I am very pleased with this ending! I hope everyone else is too. I am sad this story is over, but all good things must come to an end. **

**Also, I plan to upload another Inception one-shot tomorrow. It's going to be a little more angst filled than what I have been writing so far, but I really wanted to get it out of my system, so be sure to keep your eyes open for it. It will be called Broken Vow.**


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